THE  HILL 
OF  VISION 


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THE  HILL  OF  VISION 


THE  HILL  OF  VISION 

A  Forecast  of  the  Great  War 

and  of  Social  Revolution  with  the  Coming 
of  the  New  Race 

Gathered  from  Automatic  Writings  Ob- 
tained between  1909  and  1912,  and 
also,  in  191 8,  through  the  hand 
of  John  Alleyne,  under 
the  supervision  of 
the  author 


BY 

Frederick  Bligh  Bond 

F.R.I.B.A. 
AUTHOR  OF  "THE  GATE  OF  REMEMBRANCE" 

Script  by  JOHN  ALLEYNE 


BOSTON 
MARSHALL  JONES   COMPANY 

M  D  CCCC  XIX 


COPYRIGHT,    I  91  9, 
BY    MARSHALL    JONES    COMPANY 


THE    UNIVERSITY     l'RESS,    CAMBRIDGE,    U.S.A. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Preface.     Ralph  Adams  Cram      ...  vii 

Introduction i 

The  Prophecies 15 

The  War  Script  of  1918 20 

Discursus  on  Prophecy 37 

Transcriptions  of  the  Writings  .     .  47 
On  the   Segregation  of  the   Chosen 

Race 100 

Postscript.    Ralph  Adams  Cram .     .     .  116 

Notes 127 

Attestations 130 


11  w 


PREFACE 

1ATE  in  the  summer  of  1908  I  was  staying 
for  a  time  at  Erdington  Abbey,  a 
-«  Benedictine  house  near  Birming- 
ham, and  while  I  was  there  my  friend  Dom 
John  Chapman,  the  guest  master,  sent  for 
another  architect,  Mr.  F.  Bligh  Bond,  to 
come  to  the  Abbey  in  order  that  he  might 
tell  me  of  certain  very  wonderful  happen- 
ings then  in  process  at  the  ancient  and  holy 
ruins  of  Glastonbury. 

Dom  Chapman  knew  well  my  devotion  to 
Glaston,  and  it  appeared  that  Mr.  Bond  was 
a  kindred  spirit;  naturally,  therefore,  I 
awaited  his  arrival  with  the  keenest  in- 
terest. I  first  went  to  the  most  holy  place  in 
Britain  in  the  year  1886,  and  thereafter  as 
often  as  I  was  in  England— -some  seven  or 
eight  times  in  all.  From  the  first  it  had 
overwhelmed  me  by  its  almost  mystical  in- 
fluence, partly  august  and  enormous  history, 
partly  dim  and  evocative  tradition,  partly 
the  sense  that  the  story  was  not  finished,  but 
that  in  some  way  "  these  dead  bones  may 
live"  again  and  the  ruined  Abbey  take  its 
[vii] 


THE    HILL   OF   VISION 

place  once  more  as  a  potent  influence  for 
good. 

Bond  arrived  late  in  the  afternoon,  and 
that  night  we  sat  over  the  fire  in  my  cell, 
talking  furiously  and  smoking  after  the 
same  fashion.  The  story  he  told  me  was  of 
the  most  extraordinary,  but  all  that  part  that 
referred  to  Glaston  itself  (and  at  that  time, 
i.e.,  1908,  there  was  little  else)  has  been  set 
down  and  printed  and  need  not  be  repeated 
here.  "  The  Gate  of  Remembrance  "  is  now 
available,  and  in  it  may  be  found  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  revelations  of  psychical 
experience  ever  made  public. 

Briefly,  the  case  was  this.  In  the  year 
1907  Bond  had  been  put  in  charge  of  cer- 
tain excavations  at  Glaston  for  the  Somer- 
setshire Archaeological  Society.  One  of  the 
first  problems  that  offered  itself  was  the  site 
of  the  lost  "  Edgar  Chapel "  known  to  have 
been  built  by  Abbots  Bere  and  Whiting 
(the  martyr)  just  before  the  Suppression. 
The  weight  of  expert  opinion  was  against 
the  suggested  site  east  of  the  retro-choir,  and 
earlier  excavations  had  revealed  no  sign.  It 
was  at  this  moment  that,  almost  by  chance, 
"  automatic  writing"  was  brought  in  to  give 
the  successful  clue.     For  some  time  Bond 

[  viii  ] 


PREFACE 

and  his  friend  "J.  A."  had  experimented 
with  this  baffling  phenomenon  with  unim- 
portant or  negative  results.  On  the  7th 
November,  1907,  the  first  question  was  asked 
about  Glaston.  The  answer  was  in  the 
shape  of  a  rough  plan  showing  the  Abbey, 
the  Chapel  of  St.  Joseph,  and  the  "  Edgar 
Chapel"  occupying  the  traditional  place  of 
the  Lady  Chapel  at  the  east,  the  drawing 
being  clearly  signed  "  Gulielmus  Mona- 
chus."  Exact  and  detailed  information  fol- 
lowed as  to  dimensions,  design,  authorship, 
together  with  explicit  directions  as  to  what 
remained  and  where  the  digging  should 
begin.  Thereafter  Bond  began  his  excava- 
tions, and  at  the  point  indicated,  six  inches 
below  the  trial-pits  sunk  by  Mr.  St.  John 
Hope  in  his  earlier  explorations,  he  struck 
squared  stone.  At  the  time  he  came  to  Er- 
dington  he  had  cleared  the  complete  foot- 
ings of  the  chapel,  nearly  all  in  situ,  and  the 
figures  given  in  the  automatic  writings  were 
proved  almost  to  an  inch. 

The  next  day  Bond  had  to  return  to  Bath, 
but  forty-eight  hours  later  I  rejoined  him 
there,  where  he  was  then  living,  and  we 
went  at  once  to  Glaston.  At  that  time  the 
foundations  of  the  Edgar  Chapel  had  been 

[ix] 


THE    HILL    OF   VISION 

exposed  up  to  the  eastern  line  of  Abbot 
Bere's  work,  while  the  grave  of  "  Radul- 
phus  Concellarius"  with  the  skull  of  "  Ea- 
wulf,  Yarl  of  Edgarley,"  was  still  open  for 
me  to  see.  I  examined  carefully  the  Chapel 
foundations  and  the  fragment  of  the  fan 
vaulting  that  had  been  found  midmost  of 
the  footings,  with  its  spaces  of  faded  red 
pigment  and  flecks  of  gold  leaf,  sole  relic 
of  the  "  certaine  roofe  in  golde  and  crimson, 
very  cunning"  referred  to  in  the  automatic 
writing  of  16th  June,  1908.  At  this  time 
also  I  was  shown  some  of  the  original  writ- 
ings and  was  given  a  full  account  of  the 
circumstances  under  which  they  were  pro- 
duced. I  was  not  in  England  again  until 
April,  191 2,  when  once  more  I  went  to 
Glastonbury  where  Bond  had  taken  a  house 
in  order  that  he  might  give  constant  super- 
vision to  the  excavations,  which  by  that 
time  had  extended  to  the  great  cloister,  the 
refectory,  and  the  west  end  of  the  Abbey 
church,  many  discoveries  having  been  made 
of  very  great  archaeological  interest.  At 
this  time  I  saw  the  whole  mass  of  writings, 
as  I  remember,  over  an  hundred  foolscap 
pages  in  all,  many  of  them  in  a  corrupt  and 
colloquial  "monk.  Latin."  Before  coming 
[x] 


PREFACE 

away  I  urged  Bond  to  write  out  the  whole 
story  for  publication,  on  the  ground  of  its 
unique  interest,  offering,  if  he  would  not  do 
it  himself,  to  undertake  the  work  on  my  own 
part.  At  the  time  he  demurred,  giving 
many  good  reasons  why  publication  should 
at  least  be  postponed.  A  year  or  two  ago 
he  wrote  me  that  he  had  decided  to  print  so 
much  of  the  automatic  writing  as  referred 
specifically  to  the  Abbey,  and  the  very  re- 
markable book  "The  Gate  of  Remem- 
brance" (Oxford,  B.  H.  Blackwell,  New 
York,  Longmans,  Green  &  Co.)  is  now 
available. 

No  sooner  was  this  first  work  successfully 
accomplished  than  the  fountains  of  psychic 
energy  seemed  to  be  unsealed,  and  for  five 
years  followed  an  enormous  mass  of  miscel- 
laneous writings,  partly  in  "monk  Latin" 
partly  in  sixteenth-century  English,  together 
with  more  sketches,  this  time  of  a  quite 
different  chapel,  every  trace  of  which  has 
disappeared  from  above  ground,  and  the 
actuality  of  which  has  not  yet  been  proved 
by  the  necessary  excavations.  These  ghostly 
communications  were  signed  by  "Johannes 
Bryant,  monachus  et  lapidator,"  Abbot 
Bere,  the  martyred  Abbot  Whiting  (who 
[xi] 


THE    HILL   OF   VISION 

spells  his  name  "Whyttinge")  and  many 
other  religious.  Early  in  the  experience, 
however,  the  crabbed  script  would  break 
off  from  time  to  time  and  a  clearer  and 
firmer  writing  take  its  place.  These  com- 
munications usually  had  little  to  do  directly 
with  the  Abbey,  and  have  strange  signa- 
tures, such,  for  example  as  "  We  who  are  the 
Watchers,"  "One  of  the  Controllers  of 
things  that  are,"  "The  Nameless  One"  and 
"The  Guardian  of  things  that  be  as  they 
were  meant  to  be."  Amongst  them,  how- 
ever, came  suddenly  the  bold  signature  "  Im- 
perator,"  then  "  Caesar  Aug."  and  "  Caesar 
Augustus,  Pacificator  et  Imperator."  This 
was  evidently  a  somewhat  dominating  and 
even  irritable  personality  (?)  who,  on  one 
occasion,  burst  out  "  Rede,  I  said  it  not.  I 
said  not  Ralph  of  the  King  Henricus,  but 
Ralph  the  Norman.  Taedet  damnosum. 
Lege !  —  Imperator.  Audi  me,  barbari  stul- 
tissimi!  Ego  Imperator  qui  feci  interpre- 
tationes  pro  anima  insularium.  —  Caesar." 
It  is  from  him  and  the  various  abstractions 
named  above  that  the  surprising  communi- 
cations have  been  received.  The  first  hint, 
however,  comes  from  the  altogether  de- 
lightful "Johannes  monachus."     This  was 

[xii] 


PREFACE 

received  on  the  30th  of  December,  1907; 
the  first  part  is  quite  illegible,  then  it  clears 
up  and  goes  on  as  follows: 

"...  The  Chapel  of  Our  Lady  of  Glaston  — 
type  of  spiritual  things  which  are  not  manifest  to  you. 
The  changes  need  not  alarm  you.  The  reconstructions 
will  be  the  more  perfect.  Let  the  State  fall  in  ruins 
and  the  outward  garments  of  Faith  perish  —  fear  not. 

"...  For  greater  things  will  rise  into  being  — 
great  nations  and  great  ideals.  We  work  for  it.  Be 
willing  and  strive  not  against  the  tide.  Up  on  the  crest 
and  prosper.  All  will  work  for  the  best.  .  .  .  The 
spark  will  live  through  the  ruins  and  relight  dead  fires, 
fire  which  is  still  fire  but  with  purer  flame.  We  cannot 
hasten  the  time  but  it  is  sure  and  is  not  long  de- 
layed. ..." 

Here,  in  the  form  of  quite  typical  ghostly 
generalities,  is  a  strong  hint  of  secular  and 
spiritual  catastrophe  "sure  and  not  long  de- 
layed," with  a  great  rebuilding  thereafter. 
In  connection  with  the  ensuing  architectural 
and  historical  revelations,  references,  veiled 
but  not  doubtful,  were  constantly  being 
made  to  this  reconstruction,  and  the  Abbey 
itself  seemed  to  be  the  type;  as  for  example 
under  date  of  20th  April,  1908. 

"  Move,  work,  and  unceasingly  persist,  and  in  time 
there  will  be  a  place  for  what  once  was  and  ye  shall 
know  its  buildings  yet  again  as  they  were  wont  to  be, 

[  xiii  ] 


THE    HILL   OF   VISION 

the  lesser  buildings  first;  and  then  cometh  one  who  will 
build  the  great  church  —  a  son  of  Glaston  from  beyond 
the  sea.  Even  now  he  waits  and  watches.  .  .  .  The 
church  is  always  the  church,  and  in  the  great  scheme 
of  the  world  we  come  soon  and  our  instrument  Glaston 
shall  find  a  mighty  place.  .  .  .  Thus  Johannes  saith." 

In  the  excitement  of  progressive  dis- 
coveries and  the  proving  of  novel  assertions, 
these  hints  of  coming  catastrophe  received 
little  attention.  Why  should  they  have 
seemed  impressive?  The  years  1907-14 
were  those  of  the  very  crest  of  fat  self- 
satisfaction,  of  material  triumph,  of  wealth, 
luxury,  power.  The  last  thing  that  would 
be  thought  of  was  any  possible  failure  or 
breakdown,  or  even  halting  of  modern  civi- 
lization in  its  imperial  progress.  In  1909, 
however,  and  without  preface,  Imperator 
began  his  extraordinary  series  of  warnings 
of  ill  things  to  come,  and  these  continued 
until  the  29th  July,  191 1.  Then  "Caesar" 
falls  silent,  but  towards  the  end  of  the  year 
191 2,  there  comes  from  another  source  a 
repetition  of  the  warning  of  world-war. 
Then  in  March,  191 8,  begins  the  astonishing 
series  of  mysterious  writings  called  by  Mr. 
Bond  "The  War  Script  of  1918." 

The  narrative  of  "  The  Gate  of  Remem- 
[xiv] 


PREFACE 

brance"  is  sufficiently  difficult  of  credence; 
that  which  follows  is  even  more  so.  My 
object  in  writing  this  preface  is  to  give  my 
testimony  as  to  dates,  as  I  have  been  as- 
sociated with  Mr.  Bond  through  personal 
contact  and  correspondence  since  Septem- 
ber, 1908,  and  so  far  as  the  matter  incorpo- 
rated in  this  volume  is  concerned,  the  dates 
which  I  am  able  to  fix  are  conclusive. 

On  the  27th  July,  191 8,  Bond  sent  me 
transcripts  of  the  two  predictions  of  the 
ending  of  the  war,  dated  the  one  March 
14th,  the  other  April  19th.  These  I  received 
on  the  nth  of  August.  All  the  remainder 
of  the  MS.  for  this  volume  was  posted  to 
me  on  the  6th  of  December,  191 8,  and  I  re- 
ceived it  on  December  19th. 

Now  the  first  of  the  two  prophecies  of 
the  ending  of  the  war  was  written  just  be- 
fore the  terrible  "  March  offensive,"  at  the 
very  moment  when  the  Central  Powers 
seemed  strongest,  when  Marshal  Foch's 
"army  of  reserve"  was  popularly  held  to 
be  a  myth,  and  when  the  fortunes  of  the 
Allies  seemed  at  the  lowest  ebb.  The  sec- 
ond was  written  in  the  midst  of  the  Great 
Offensive,  when  everywhere  on  the  Western 
Front  the  Allied  armies  were  being  beaten 

[xv] 


THE    HILL   OF   VISION 

back.  Paris  lay  under  the  bombardment  of 
monstrous  guns  of  unsuspected  force,  and 
the  hearts  of  the  people  (and  we  know  now 
of  the  military  leaders)  were  in  the  depth 
of  apprehension  if  not  of  despair.  For  the 
Teutons  it  was  the  high-water  mark  of  the 
war,  and  the  most  sanguine  optimist  hoped 
for  nothing  better  than  a  successful  defen- 
sive warfare  until  winter  gave  some  respite, 
with  the  chance  of  a  victorious  offensive  in 
April,  1919.  And  at  that  moment  of  gloom, 
horror  and  almost  despair  comes  this  calm 
assurance  that  on  the  26th  day  of  August 
the  war  would  come  to  an  end  with  com- 
plete victory  for  the  Allies,  although  "  a 
semblance  of  war  "  would  continue  for  some 
time  thereafter.  What  happened?  Not 
daring  to  believe  in  the  possibility  of  the 
event,  yet  knowing  the  exact  accuracy  of  the 
strange  writings  that  had  been  obtained  in 
the  case  of  Glastonbury,  and  encouraged  by 
the  miraculous  success  of  Marshal  Foch's 
offensive  which  had  then  been  under  way 
for  three  weeks,  I  recklessly  stated  to  vari- 
ous people  that  the  war  would  be  over  be- 
fore Thanksgiving — and  was  of  course 
roundly  jeered  at  '  *  my  pains.  On  Mon- 
day the  26th  of  August  there  was  no  lack  of 

[xvi  ] 


PREFACE 

confirmatory  evidence,  and  from  amongst 
the  various  reports  on  this  fateful  day  was 
the  following: 

"  Enemy  Has  Simply  Disintegrated  " 

"  Dramatic  Era  Began  with  Startling  Suddenness  " 

London,  Aug.  26:  "  We  have  entered  the  most  dra- 
matic era  of  the  war  with  such  startling  suddenness 
that  it  is  difficult  to  realize  the  full  extent  of  its  pos- 
sibilities," says  Reuter's  correspondent  at  British  Head- 
quarters, in  describing  the  situation  Sunday.  "  It  is  a 
staggering  fact  that  since  yesterday  morning  the  enemy 
has  simply  disintegrated  over  a  considerable  zone." 

Even  then  the  possibility  of  an  ending  of 
the  war  before  a  spring  campaign  seemed, 
at  the  least,  remote,  and  yet  —  within  the 
space  of  exactly  seven  weeks,  Bulgaria,  Tur- 
key and  Austria  had  been  beaten  in  the  field 
and  forced  to  capitulate  at  discretion,  the 
Italian  armies  had  come  back  and  won  one 
of  the  decisive  victories  of  the  war,  Meso- 
potamia and  the  Holy  Land  were  free,  Aus- 
tria had  broken  up  in  disintegration  and 
anarchy,  the  American  army  had  won  im- 
perishable glory  at  Chateau-Thierry  and 
Saint-Mihiel,  had  taken  Sedan  and  was  at 
the  gates  of  Metz;  the  French  had  driven 
almost  every  Germrn  ^ross  the  frontier, 
the  British  were  back  \    Mons,  the  Belgians 

[  xvii  ] 


THE    HILL   OF   VISION 

had  cleared  half  of  their  country,  the  King 
was  in  Bruges  on  his  way  to  Brussels  —  and 
Germany  had  surrendered  on  such  terms  as 
never  before  had  been  dictated  to  a  broken 
foe  in  the  whole  career  of  history. 

It  is  a  fact  that  the  25th  day  of  August, 
1918,  is  now  generally  accepted  by  military 
commentators  as  the  day  when,  as  a  result 
of  the  hammer  blows  of  Foch,  now  here, 
now  there,  without  respite  and  without 
mercy,  the  Teuton  line,  shaken  at  five  differ- 
ent points,  collapsed  all  along  the  front, 
hopelessly  and  finally.  August  25th  is  ad- 
mittedly the  day  when  the  offensive  passed 
conclusively  into  the  hands  of  the  Allies. 

Further;  it  is  also  now  avowed  from  Ger- 
man sources  that  "  the  last  week  of  August" 
was  the  time  when  the  morale  of  the  Ger- 
man people  at  home  snapped  like  a  wire 
drawn  too  taut,  with  no  hope  of  recovery. 

It  appears,  therefore,  that  the  officers  of 
the  Allied  armies,  the  military  critics,  the 
newspaper  correspondents  and  the  general 
public  were  all  wrong  in  their  forecast  of 
events,  overestimating  the  mark  in  their  pre- 
dictions of  the  date  of  the  ending  of  the  war 
by  about  six  months,  while  the  one  exact 
prophecy  came  through  the  automatic  writ- 

[  xviii  ] 


PREFACE 

ing  produced  by  an  architect  and  his  friend, 
a  prophecy  dated  the  19th  of  April,  just 
seven  months  before  the  event.  What  is  the 
explanation?  Some  must  be  forthcoming, 
for  the  fact  opens  up  unlimited  possibilities. 
The  fact  itself  is  incontestable  and  the  dated 
and  attested  documents  are  here  to  prove  it. 
If  in  April,  1918,  and  at  the  one  moment  in 
the  four  years  of  war  when  immediate  vic- 
tory, even  victory  itself,  was  most  doubtful, 
the  very  day  of  the  enemy's  downfall  is  pre- 
dicted some  months  hence,  how  escape  the 
conclusion  that  some  conscious  power  is  de- 
termining the  affairs  of  men,  willy-nilly,  in 
accordance  with  a  preordained  destiny;  at 
the  least  in  accordance  with  the  determina- 
tion of  fate?  A  wise  man  whom  I  know 
once  devoutly  thanked  God  that  he  was  not 
so  superstitious  as  to  believe  in  coincidences. 
Only  Cimmerian  superstition  would  allege 
a  coincidence  in  this  instance  as  the  sufficient 
explanation. 

In  the  case  of  the  Glastonbury  writings  a 
plausible  solution  is  possible  without  in- 
voking "  Spiritualism,"  for  Mr.  Bond's  own 
theory  of  the  operation  of  the  intuition 
through  the  subconscious  mind  is  tenable; 
so  also  is  the  doctrine  of  the  reservoir  of 

[xix] 


THE    HILL   OF   VISION 

cosmic  memory,  and  that  of  the  multiple 
personality,  one  element  in  which  (not  the 
immortal  soul,  but  a  thing  like  the  faculty  of 
memory)  survives  that  dissolution  which  is 
death,  and  remains  for  a  time  bound  to  its 
earthly  environment  and  strives  always  to 
recover  a  fictitious  life  through  the  poten- 
tiality of  the  medium. 

In  "  The  Gate  of  Remembrance  "  (p.  95) 
is  a  communication  from  "Johannes"  which 
is  significant  in  that  it  puts  this  last  thing 
into  very  clear  words : 

"  I  dydde  it  not,  God  wot,  not  I !  Why  cling  I  to 
that  which  is  not?  It  is  I,  and  it  is  not  I,  butt  parte 
of  me  which  dwelleth  in  the  past,  and  is  bound  to  that 
whych  my  carnal  soul  loved  and  called  '  home  '  these 
many  years.  Yet  I,  Johannes,  amm  of  many  partes, 
and  ye  better  parte  doeth  other  things  —  Laus,  Laus 
Deo !  —  only  that  part  which  remcmbereth  clingeth 
like  memory  to  what  it  seeth  yet." 

In  itself  this  adequately  explains  how  and 
why  the  past  history  of  the  Abbey  is  spread 
before  us  now  after  four  hundred  years,  and 
the  secrets  of  its  buried  mysteries  are  given 
up. 

The  predictions  of  the  coming  of  war  and 
of  the  end  are  in  another  category.  Here 
we  are  dealing  neither  with  the  past  nor 

[xx] 


PREFACE 

with  the  present,  but  with  the  future ;  in  one 
case  the  prophecy  is  of  what  was  not  to  be- 
fall for  five  years,  in  the  other  for  seven 
months.  Subconscious  mind,  and  the  reser- 
voir of  memory,  and  multiple  personality  all 
fail  here,  and  some  other  solution  is  neces- 
sary. What  this  may  be  I  leave  to  others 
better  fitted  than  myself  to  determine. 

Now  since  the  "force"  or  "conscious- 
ness" or  whatever  it  is  that  has  manifested 
itself  through  Mr.  Bond  and  his  friend 
"J.  A.,"  has  established  its  reputation  for 
veracity  through  the  prophecy  of  war  and 
the  prediction  of  its  end,  the  question  arises 
as  to  the  credence  that  should  be  given  to  the 
other  forecasts  made  through  the  same  chan- 
nels. Consider  the  "call  to  arms"  which 
was  at  the  same  time  the  valedictory  of  "  Im- 
perator,"  and  is  dated  29th  July,  191 1. 
Here  is,  first,  the  statement  that  "  the  West 
shall  fall "  and  that  "  the  East  comes  into  its 
heritage."  Great  Britain  is  to  endure, 
though  "through  a  sea  of  blood  and  suffer- 
ing shall  she  attain  to  her  perfection,"  while 
"  a  higher  Knighthood  than  her  own  shall 
spare  her  in  the  day  of  the  humiliation  of 
nations."  Then  follows  the  statement  that 
after  this  great  purgation  of  "  suffering  and 
[xxi] 


THE   HILL   OF   VISION 

catastrophe "  shall  come  "  change  and  the 
soul's  death,"  while  "  strange  creeds  and  no 
creeds  shall  echo  in  the  sacred  places." 
After  an  interval  "  the  leaven  of  the  Faith- 
ful shall  work,  and  because  it  shall  endure 
it  shall  transform  the  world." 

Here  is  a  clear  prophecy  of  the  inevitable 
downfall  of  Western  civilization  after  the 
war  already  foretold.  The  causes  of  this 
great  debacle  are  more  than  hinted  at  in  the 
writings  that  were  obtained  in  191 8,  as  for 
example: 

"  Beware!  ye  ravers.  Beware!  ye  fanatics,  ye  per- 
verted and  unbalanced,  dreamers  of  great  things,  that, 
raving  in  the  land,  are  leading  and  directing  the  brute! 
—  the  true  Beast  of  the  Apocalypse.  Ye  not  only  in- 
volve yourselves  but  the  whole  world  of  your  ideals  in 
one  common  ruin,  and  by  misdirected  freewill  which 
is  entirely  perverted,  set  back  the  clock  for  generations. 
Now  is  the  appointed  time!  For  now,  Self  and  its  in- 
firmities are  the  pendulum  swinging  to  the  darkest  night 
of  barbarism.  Follow  the  Spirit!  Yield  to  the  in- 
fluence of  the  Divine,  which  would  fain  control  you, 
and  the  world  advances,  by  the  longest  stride  it  ever 
has  taken,  to  the  borders  of  the  Kingdom.  Darkness 
and  Light!  Self  and  God!  Which,  in  the  relief  from 
the  impending  menace,  will  ye  accept?" 

There   is   here   not  only  diagnosis   and 
warning  but  for  the  first  time  an  expression 
of  doubt  as  to  the  immediate  future;  at  least 
[  xxii  ] 


PREFACE 

the  admission  of  a  choice  which  may  be 
made  and  is  not  yet  determined.  In  the 
earliest  scripts,  i.e.,  1907-09,  there  is  ap- 
parent certainty  of  a  recovery  that  is  to  be 
"not  long  delayed."  "Chaos,  Darkness  — 
and  a  new  dawn  in  crimson  skies."  "Not 
long  the  conflict.  The  fury  burns  fierce  and 
fast  —  and  then  the  calm  on  a  red  world." 
In  the  forepart  of  191 8  there  seems  a  more 
definite  certainty  of  immediate  fulfillment, 
as  for  example,  under  date  of  the  27th  of 
March.  "We  have  told  you  many  times 
this  is  the  end  of  old  things  and  the  labour- 
ing world  of  war,  in  a  new  era  and  a  new 
dispensation.  The  Earth-spirit  passes  under 
the  control  of  a  Higher  Power,  and  sud- 
denly, suddenly  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye, 
it  will  be  with  you.  It  is  near  at  hand.  In 
your  souls  you  can  feel  it,  and  they  who  are 
in  war  and  conflict  feel  it  more  than  even 
you  do." 

During  this  year,  however,  there  seems 
to  be  an  increasing  doubt  as  to  the  rapidity 
with  which  the  great  revolution  that  is  to 
follow  the  war  is  to  attain  its  fruition  in 
what  is  constantly  referred  to  as  the  "New 
Kingdom"  or  the  "Middle  Kingdom"  be- 
tween Matter  and  Spirit  when  "  the  martyr- 

[  xxiii  ] 


THE   HILL   OF   VISION 

dom  of  matter"  has  been  accomplished  and, 
its  interpretation  by  Spirit  perfected,  Spirit 
shall  for  the  first  time  be  in  universal  con- 
trol. This  would  seem  like  a  progressive 
"eclaircissement"  of  vision  on  the  part  of 
whatever  force  or  intelligence  it  is  that  is 
the  source  of  the  script,  but  the  varying  in 
dates  (except  in  the  case  of  the  ending  of 
the  war  when  the  date  was  exact  to  a  day)  is 
explained  by  the  statement  in  the  prophecy 
of  19th  April,  to  the  effect  that  while  the  in- 
fluence (whatever  it  is)  does  "  control  spirit- 
ual forces  which  manifest  themselves  in 
Matter,"  yet  it  is  "often  unconscious  of 
the  spiritless  movements  of  Matter  after  the 
withdrawal  of  the  spiritual  work  in  Time." 
A  further  elucidation  is  given  through  the 
Bergsonian  phrase  (14th  March,  1918) 
"Time  is  the  ratio  of  the  resistance  of 
Matter  to  the  Spirit." 

Now  however  much  the  duration  of  the 
predicted  "Chaos  and  Darkness"  of  the 
period  of  revolution  and  redemption  may 
be  prolonged  by  the  resistance  of  Matter  to 
the  interpenetration  of  Spirit,  as  this  resis- 
tance is  effected  by  the  "  ravers  and  fanatics" 
the  "perverted  and  unbalanced,  dreamers 
of  great  things  that,  raving  in  the  land,  are 

[  xxiv  ] 


PREFACE 

leading  and  directing  the  brute!  —  the  true 
Beast  of  the  Apocalypse,"  and  who  not  only 
involve  themselves  but  the  whole  world  "  in 
one  common  ruin,  and  by  misdirected  free- 
will which  is  entirely  perverted,  set  back  the 
clock  for  generations"  (3rd  June,  1918)  — 
the  coming  in  of  the  new  "  Spiritual  King- 
dom" is  as  clearly  foretold  as  the  nature  of 
the  inimical  and  arresting  force  is  indi- 
cated. The  choice  is  given  between  "  Dark- 
ness and  Light,  Self  and  God.  Which,  in 
the  relief  from  the  impending  menace,  will 
ye  accept?" 

The  headlong  events  in  Russia  since  the 
first  Revolution,  in  Germany  since  the  Ar- 
mistice, and  the  steady  encroachment  of 
these  dark  forces  on  the  spiritual  territories 
of  the  Allies,  give  startling  significance  to 
this  last  script  of  the  3rd  of  June,  1918.  Itis 
evident  that  man  himself  must,  and  at  once, 
make  his  decision  for  or  against  a  new  era 
of  Dark  Ages  that  may  soon  extend  in  time 
to  a  period  equal  in  duration  to  the  last. 
It  is  the  old  choice,  now  offered  anew,  be- 
tween "  Darkness  and  Light,  Self  and  God. 
Which,  in  the  relief  from  the  impending 

menace,  will  ye  accept?" 

Ralph  Adams  Cram. 

[xxv  ] 


INTRODUCTION 

THE  Glastonbury  Messages,  published 
under  the  title  "The  Gate  of  Re- 
membrance," record  the  story  of  the 
discovery  of  the  long-lost  Chapel  of  King 
Edgar,  by  the  help  of  a  series  of  automatic 
writings  produced  after  careful  and  thor- 
ough study  of  all  available  documents  and 
data  derived  from  the  remains  had  fur- 
nished the  author  and  his  friend  the  autom- 
atist  with  the  material  on  which  it  might 
be  supposed  that  the  subconscious  powers  of 
the  mind  could  work,  in  order  that  by  the 
automatic  process  some  more  perfect  in- 
ferences as  to  the  actual  facts  might  be 
caused  to  emerge.  The  success  of  the  proc- 
ess surpassed  all  anticipations,  and  the 
result  certainly  indicates  a  wide  field  of 
possible  utility  for  this  method  of  laying 
hold  of  truth  stored  in  the  subliminal  or 
subconscious  mind. 

But  the  script  took  a  narrative  form,  and 
the  outstanding  peculiarity  of  it  is  that  it 
everywhere  claims  to  have  been  communi- 
cated by  intelligent  agents  outside  the  actual 
[i] 


THE    HILL    OF   VISION 

personality  of  the  automatist  and  his  friend 
the  present  writer.  And  although  the  Glas- 
tonbury matters  are  dealt  with  in  the  writ- 
ings as  a  coherent  whole,  and  present  them- 
selves as  a  body  of  information  complete 
and  well-rounded,  there  appear,  almost 
from  the  first,  certain  other  features  quite 
foreign  to  them.  These  have  been  described 
as  "  intrusions,"  and  are  only  dealt  with  in- 
cidentally in  the  book,1  and  necessarily  to  a 
very  limited  extent.  Behind  and  beyond 
the  mediaeval  and  monkish  ideas  and  in- 
fluences which  are  concerned  with  Glaston- 
bury Abbey,  there  are  in  evidence  certain 
controlling  influences  which  speak  to  us 
from  out  the  great  profundity  of  time,  and 
which  seem  to  marshal  the  memories  and 
personalities  evoked  in  the  script,  as  the 
stage-manager  summons  and  controls  the 
actors  of  a  play  in  their  several  parts. 
These  more  dominant  influences  are  many, 
and  first  and  foremost  among  them  appears 
one  of  masterful  aspect,  who  speaks  to  us 
under  the  name  "  Imperator."  At  other 
times  the  communications  are  signed  "The 
Watchers."  They  speak  to  us  of  things 
greater  than  the  Abbey,  of  interests  more 

1  "The  Gate  of  Remembrance." 
[2] 


INTRODUCTION 

comprehensive  of  the  general  destiny  of  our 
race. 

In  particular,  they  have,  for  many  years 
past,  hinted  at  the  coming  of  a  great  world- 
crisis,  of  war  and  revolution,  leading  to  the 
dawn  of  a  new  era  for  man,  and  the  promise 
of  greater  power  and  greater  glory  for  the 
race,  when  the  materialism  which  has 
hitherto  stunted  his  spiritual  growth  and 
thwarted  his  best  efforts  shall  be  cast  off, 
and  he  shall  claim  lordship  over  Matter, 
which  shall  henceforth  be  his  servant,  and 
no  longer  as  heretofore  his  master.  A  few 
of  these  writings  have  been  published  in  an 
English  weekly  magazine,  but  the  bulk  of 
them  are  now  for  the  first  time  offered  to 
the  public  through  the  kind  cooperation  of 
Dr.  Ralph  Adams  Cram,  whose  assistance 
has  made  it  possible  to  publish  them  in 
America.  And  the  duties  of  editor  will  to 
some  extent  devolve  upon  him,  though  in 
the  presentation  of  the  material  it  will  be 
necessary  that  the  present  writer  should  add 
certain  notes  from  his  own  experience,  of 
an  explanatory  nature. 

The  substance  of  the  script  may  be  di- 
vided into  two  main  sections:  the  Pre-War 
Script,  and  the  Later  Script  But  as,  for 
[3] 


THE    HILL   OF   VISION 

the  better  elucidation  of  the  whole,  and 
especially  of  the  part  claimed  to  be  played 
by  Imperator,  the  Watchers,  and  others, 
we  must  refer  to  the  latter,  the  order  of 
sequence  is  ordered  for  convenience1  sake. 
In  every  case,  however,  the  extracts  will  be 
found  to  bear  their  proper  date. 

The  chief  difficulty  met  with  in  publica- 
tion has  been  the  correct  rendering  of  faultily 
written  passages.  Much  of  the  original  has 
been  difficult  to  decipher,  and  occasionally  a 
whole  sentence  has  baffled  correct  transcrip- 
tion. Where  this  is  so,  the  following  system 
has  been  adopted :  ( i )  Italics  are  used  to  de- 
note doubtful  verbiage,  and  (2)  where  the 
meaning  is  itself  obscure,  dots  are  inserted. 
Here  and  there  the  present  writer  has  added 
his  own  gloss  under  the  initials  F.B.B. 

On  the  very  first  occasion  on  which  this 
series  of  automatic  writings  was  attempted,1 
there  was  observed  the  same  phenomenon 
which  other  investigators  into  the  sublim- 
inal have  noticed,  namely,  a  tendency  to 
changes,  more  or  less  abrupt,  in  the  manner 
of  diction  as  well  as  in  the  matter  of  the 
script.  In  some  of  the  later  sittings  this  was 
often  so  sudden  as  to  constitute  a  real  break 

1  See  "The  Gate  of  Remembrance,"  p.  32.  ■ 
[4] 


INTRODUCTION 

in  the  thread  of  the  communication.  Be- 
fore any  of  the  monkish  messages  were 
given  this  was  written: 

"  All  Knowledge  is  eternal,  and  is  available  to  mental 
sympathy." 

And  this  was  not  a  mere  platitude,  but 
the  keynote  of  all  that  followed  —  an  idea 
afterwards  enlarged  upon  and  consistently 
developed  until  in  the  later  script  we  have 
something  like  a  completed  scheme  of  philo- 
sophic doctrine  concerning  the  survival  of 
the  human  personality  and  its  real  experi- 
ence as  acquired  in  the  body,  in  union  with 
a  greater  and  more  transcendent  conscious- 
ness in  which  all  the  individual  memories 
and  experiences  are  preserved  and  co- 
ordinated. 

The  change  of  influence  was  very  marked 
in  the  fourth  sitting.  There  had  been  a 
communication  under  the  name  Gulielmus 
concerning  a  maiden  who,  it  was  said,  had 
spiritual  vision,  knowing  many  things  "in 
her  herte  but  not  in  her  minde."  The  script 
ran  as  follows: 

"  She  is  a  virgin  as  of  old  was  Brigit  and  her  bande. 
Let  her  goe  to  ye  fielde  yclept  Bee  Eyrie,  in  ye  orcharde; 
there  dreme,  and  it  shall  be  vouchsafed  to  her  soul  to 
reveal  the  memory  of  things  now  hidden  underground 

[5] 


THE   HILL   OF   VISION 

by  long  tyme:  greater  than  stones  or  things  builded  by 
handes  the  greater  things  that  perish  not,  revealed  to 
the  pure  in  herte  " 

(here  the  influence  begins  to  change. 
F.B.B.). 

"  Ye  shall  learn  of  builded  things  .  .  .  and  in  signs 
and  symbols,  more  than  that.  (Ye )  will  read  the  future 
and  the  returning  of  new  faith.  Ye  are  for  the  build- 
ing of  things  that  were  and  are  not:  builded  by  faith 
and  deeds  and  lost  through  vanity  and  the  evil  of  the 
pride  of  the  eye  " 

(the  change  is  now  completed.     F.B.B.). 

"  Thus  shall  the  light  be  relighted,  and  shall  shine 
on  all  the  Earth,  a  Temple  set  in  the  midst  of  a  new 
revelation,  where  the  wise  shall  worship  as  well  as  the 
simple,  in  the  old  Faith  reclothed  with  acceptance  to 
the  wider  knowledge,  and  in  the  habiliments  of  modern 
intelligence."  Imperator. 

Here  we  have  for  the  first  time  the  sig- 
nature "  Imperator."  It  was  entirely  un- 
expected. But  F.B.B.,  who  had  many  years 
before  read,  and  possessed  a  copy  of,  Stain- 
ton  Moses's  "Spirit  Teachings"  was  not 
long  in  recalling  the  circumstance  that  the 
greater  number  of  these  are  signed  with  this 
name.  J.  A.,  the  automatist,  seems  how- 
ever to  have  been  absolutely  unaware  of  the 
fact,  and  had  no  knowledge  of  the  book. 
[6] 


INTRODUCTION 

We  now  pass  to  the  ninth  sitting,  which 
took  place  on  the  30th  of  December,  1907, 
and  is  recorded  in  "The  Gate  of  Remem- 
brance." From  this  we  extract  the  fol- 
lowing: 

"The  Chapel  of  Our  Lady  of  Glaston:  type  of 
spiritual  things  which  are  not  manifest  to  you.  The 
changes  need  not  alarm  you.  The  reconstructions  will 
be  more  perfect.  Let  the  State  fall  in  ruins  and  the 
outward  garments  of  Faith  perish  —  fear  not ! 

"For  greater  things  will  rise  into  being  —  great 
nations  and  great  ideals  —  we  work  for  it.  Be  willing, 
and  strive  not  against  the  tide.  Up  on  the  crest  and 
prosper.  All  will  work  for  the  best.  .  .  .  The  spark 
will  live  thro'  the  rains  and  will  relight  dead  fires, 
fire  which  is  still  fire,  but  with  purer  flame.  We 
cannot  hasten  the  time,  but  it  is  sure,  and  is  not 
delayed." 

There  had  been  nothing  to  lead  up  to 
this  warning.  The  word  "reconstruction" 
as  applying  to  the  ecclesiastical  or  social 
fabric,  was  far  from  our  minds,  which  were 
more  engaged  with  the  more  literal  sense  of 
the  word,  in  connection  with  schemes  al- 
ready in  the  air  for  the  future  of  the  Abbey 
ruins.  Hence  the  warning  attracted  but 
little  attention  at  the  time.  It  was  not  fol- 
lowed up  by  other  communications  to  a  like 
effect  until  much  later. 
[7] 


THE   HILL   OF   VISION 

But  the  recurrence  of  the  signature  "  Im- 
perator"  excited  our  curiosity,  and  F.B.B. 
thought  it  well  to  ask  the  question,  "Will 
Imperator  tell  us  who  he  is?  "  The  answer 
came  as  follows : 

"  C^sar  Augustus  Imperator  et  Pacificator  " 
Not  knowing  the  identity  of  Stainton 
Moses's  "  control,"  which  has  been  more 
or  less  a  secret  known  to  a  few  only,  we 
could  not  feel  sure  that  our  "Imperator" 
was  the  same.  It  is  now  certain  that  he  is 
not. 

In  the  eleventh  sitting,  which  took  place 
in  very  cold  weather,  in  the  winter  of  1907- 
1908,  a  little  writing  was  obtained,  very 
cramped  and  irregular.  It  followed  on 
some  conversation  on  the  subject  of  the 
mental  affinities  of  the  British  and  Romans. 
We  deciphered  this: 

"  Sanguis  Romanorum   in  Britannia  manet  et   re- 

(e) 
surgat 

and: 

"  In  insula  Brittanica,  Roma  manet  et  resurgat." 

Here    followed    some    attempt    to    give 
advice  to  the  sitters  about  their  own  affairs, 
but  the  cold  seemed  to  make  the  effort  hope- 
[8] 


INTRODUCTION 

less  and  the  sentence  broke  down  with  — 
"obliviscor  .  .  .  heu  mihi!  —  pro  tempore 
Augustus  non  possit!"  The  thread  was 
then  taken  up  by  Johannes,  who  said: 

"  Imperator  would  say  — '  Seek  the  goal  and  ensue 
it.'  " 

F.B.B.  had  given  expression  to  some  ques- 
tion which  was  in  his  mind  as  to  the  real 
meaning  of  these  alleged  racial  rebirths, 
and  there  came  the  following: 

"  The  facts  live,  and  the  emotions  and  events.  The 
puppets  die  and  are  not.  The  leaf  is  reproduced :  the 
ear  grows:  but  the  old  time  is  dead.  You  understand 
not  reincarnation,  nor  can  we  explain.  What  in  you 
reincarnates,  do  you  think?  How  can  you  find  words? 
Blind  gropers  after  immutable  facts,  which  are  not  of 
your  sphere  or  experience." 

The  Script  of  1909 
DURING  the  year  1908,  and  on  through 
1909,  down  to  the  month  of  October,  the 
Glastonbury  message  unfolded  itself.  The 
script  of  1908  was  chiefly  concerned  with 
the  Edgar  Chapel,  and  the  features  of  the 
building  were  successively  brought  to  light 
after  their  description  in  the  writings,  and 
proved  these  veridical.  First,  the  rectan- 
gular chapel  as  built  by  Abbot  Beere  of 
[9]  ' 


THE    HILL   OF   VISION 

which  it  had  been  said,  "We  laid  down 
seventy-and-two,  but  they  builded  longer." 
And  the  extreme  measure  proved  to  be 
within  a  few  inches  of  this  length,  though 
no  hint  of  any  such  length,  nor  even  of  any 
division  of  length  in  this  chapel,  had  been 
extant  in  document  or  tradition.  Subse- 
quently were  found  the  remains  of  the 
polygonal  apse,  whose  outline,  following 
the  indication  of  the  script,  was  published 
before  discovery. 

During  1909  much  more  matter  was  re- 
ceived, whose  accuracy,  as  in  the  case  of 
the  Loretto  Chapel,  still  awaits  verification, 
which  will  be  attempted  when  funds  and 
labour  are  forthcoming  at  the  right  season 
of  the  year.  Throughout  this  time  we  have 
no  actual  mention  of  Imperator's  presence, 
although  we  are  occasionally  sensible  of  a 
controlling  influence  which  may  be  his. 

During  October,  1909,  J.  A.  (Mr.  John 
Alleyne)  was  located  at  Teddington,  and 
on  the  evening  of  the  15th  of  that  month, 
a  further  experiment  was  made,  and  the 
result  was  strange  and  utterly  beyond  antic- 
ipation. In  a  few  terse  sentences,  in  lan- 
guage powerful  and  full  of  fine  imagery, 
there  came  a  prediction,  quite  unmistakable, 
[10] 


INTRODUCTION 

of  a  world-war,  a  cataclysm  which  should 
drench  the  earth  in  blood,  with  a  hint  im- 
plied of  some  sort  of  social  revolution  to 
follow  or  to  accompany  it.  Afterwards  is 
to  come  an  era  of  splendour  which  is  spoken 
of  as  "  the  great  feast  of  the  Christus,"  and 
the  communication  is  signed  "Augustus 
Caesar  Imperator"  (see  full  transcript  fol- 
lowing, p.  15). 

The  Script  of  191  i 

DURING  19 10,  several  writings  were  ob- 
tained, all  of  which  seem  to  have  had 
reference  to  Glastonbury,  but  we  do  not 
detect  the  influence  of  Imperator  again 
until  April,  191 1,  when  he  intervenes 
brusquely  to  correct  the  sitters'  misappre- 
hension about  Ralph  FitzHamon  (see  "The 
Gate  of  Remembrance,"  p.  108). 

Again  on  the  7th  July,  we  obtain  the  fine 
utterance  which  commences  with  a  call  to 
Britain,  summoning  her  to  enter  upon  a 
new  heritage  of  greatness  which  is  to  be 
hers  after  the  "  fall  of  the  West."  Her  Em- 
pire shall  endure,  for  she  will  not  fail  in 
spirit.  And  with  her,  and  her  company  of 
nations,  will  be  united  in  loyalty  and  chival- 
rous friendship  those  ancient  races  of  the 
[11] 


THE    HILL   OF   VISION 

East  who  have  learned  her  love  of  justice 
and  freedom. 

It  would  seem  indeed  that  she  would 
have  need  of  that  friendship,  and  that  the 
day  may  come  when,  exhausted  with  suffer- 
ing and  sacrifice,  she  will  be  at  the  mercy 
of  the  still  unexploited  manhood  of  the 
East,  now  awakening  to  its  world-heritage. 
What  further  vials  are  to  be  poured  out 
upon  unhappy  Europe?  What  will  bring 
about  the  final  humiliation  of  her  peoples? 
Whatever  it  be,  we  are  promised  that  a 
higher  knighthood  than  her  own  shall  in- 
tervene to  spare  our  race.  Can  we  not 
already  discern  a  promise  of  that  high  chiv- 
alry in  the  flower  of  Oriental  culture  now 
mingling  with  us? 

The  latter  part  of  this  script  is  indeed 
the  logical  sequence  of  the  first,  for  with 
a  greatly  increased  influence  and  -prestige 
in  mundane  affairs  of  Eastern  modes  of 
thought  would  certainly  arrive  newer  and 
fuller  interpretations  of  religion  and  a 
further  slackening  of  the  hold  which  the 
mere  intellectualisms  of  the  cruder  and 
often  less  spiritual  mind  of  the  West  has 
managed  until  now  in  a  measure  to  retain. 
(See  transcript,  p.  18.) 

[12] 


INTRODUCTION 

The  Script  of  191 2 

JUST  three  years  after  the  appearance  of 
the  war  script  of  1909,  comes  a  further  cor- 
roboration of  the  warning  then  conveyed. 
The  mysterious  "Poppies"  therein  alluded 
to,  are  again  spoken  of  —  poppies  of  blood! 
It  was  on  the  26th  of  October,  19 12,  that 
this  second  war  script  was  given.  The 
Balkan  war  was  raging  at  the  time,  and  no 
doubt  many  people  were  watching  the  situ- 
ation with  anxiety,  and  fearing  that  the 
conflagration  might  spread.  And  we  can 
read  in  the  script  a  sense  of  shortly  impend- 
ing doom  for  the  whole  of  Europe.  "  POV- 
ERTY, HUNGER,  AND  THE  WAR-LUST  IN 
EVERY  LAND  ON  WHICH  LIES  THE  SHADOW 
OF  THE  CROSS."  It  is  a  fact  of  strange  sig- 
nificance that  the  territories  invaded  in  the 
Great  War  have  been  Christian  territories, 
and  the  massacred  and  enslaved  peoples, 
Christian  peoples.  Asiatic  Turkey,  that  is, 
Turkey  proper,  has  been  inviolate,  and  save 
for  internecine  warfare  between  Turk  and 
Arab,  which  has  been  a  matter  of  old 
standing,  the  non-Christian  world  has  been 
spared  the  ordeals  of  invasion. 
The  transcript  of  these  earlier  writings  is 
[13] 


THE    HILL   OF   VISION 

appended  to  these  notes.  There  are  alto- 
gether four  different  scripts.  The  first  three 
were  published  in  the  London  weekly  Light 
for  May  18,  1918;  the  fourth,  dated  27th 
June,  1912,  has  recently  been  recovered 
from  a  mass  of  miscellaneous  writings 
mostly  concerning  Glastonbury  Abbey.  It 
concerns  the  rise  of  a  false  democracy  and 
its  attempted  usurpation  of  power  by  gross 
and  violent  methods.  The  most  recent 
scripts  —  those  obtained  in  1918  —  contain 
allusions  to  the  same  subject,  and  readers 
may  compare  the  earlier  with  the  later 
warnings  given.  On  first  reading,  in  1909, 
the  script  which  speaks  of  "The  Poppies," 
one's  thoughts  naturally  turned  to  a  war  of 
nations.  Yet  the  following  words  point 
surely  to  a  social  upheaval : 

"  Strike  not  and  ye  will  be  stricken  not;  and  they  of 
a  true  heart  among  the  people  will  give  you  shelter. 
Among  them  ye  have  no  foes." 

There  seems  in  these  writings  no  definite 
distinction  between  the  national  and  the  so- 
cial cataclysm.  The  two  are  interwoven. 
They  may  be  dual  aspects  of  One  Great 
Event. 


[14] 


THE  PROPHECIES  OF  WAR  AND 
OF  THE  ENDING  OF  WAR 

Here  begin  the  War  Prophecies;  suddenly 
and  without  warning  or  preface.  The 
writing  was  obtained  at  Teddington 
where  UJ.  A. "  was  then  staying.    R.  A.  C. 

October  15,  1909. 

"  Fortuna  fuit.     Caelum  ruit.     Labor  fruit  in 
aeternum." 

Q.    What  is  impending? 

A.  "  War  —  horrid  war.  Mars  is  King. 
Brother's  blood.  Before  the  great  feast  of  the 
Christus,  the  Nazarene,  it  cometh.  The  weak 
must  suffer.  The  strong  must  die.  Those  who 
are  neither  will  suffer  and  live.  Chaos  —  dark- 
ness —  and  a  new  dawn  in  crimson  skies. 

"  Bow  to  the  storm.  Leave  the  strong  to  break  it 
and  be  broken.  Be  like  the  holy  men  of  old,  in  the 
sanctuary  of  your  inner  selves.  Strike  not,  and  ye  will 
be  stricken  not,  and  they  of  a  true  heart  among  the 
people  will  give  you  shelter.  Among  them  ye  have  no 
foes.  But  there  must  be  suffering  of  the  body.  Fear 
not.  The  shrine  of  your  inner  self  is  consecrated 
ground,  and  none  will  enter  there. 

"  Learn  the  great  secret.  Let  others  strive  for  the 
shadows.  To  the  earth  the  earth;  and  to  the  stars 
the  soul  of  the  free. 

[15] 


THE    HILL   OF   VISION 

"  Not  long  the  conflict.  The  fury  burns  fierce  and 
fast.     And  then  the  calm  on  a  red  world. 

"The  masters  watch:  the  puppets  play,  and  think 
that  they  are  gods.  Let  them  dance!  They  are  gone 
like  the  shadows  of  the  night. 

"Red  world!  Red  Poppies  of  forgetfulness  in  the 
graveyard  of  the  past  and  gone  —  for  —  ever  — 

"  They  dance  but  to  a  music  of  madness,  which  is 
not  of  their  piping.  They  swell  and  sweep  the  earth, 
and  say,  '  Behold !  We  have  changed  the  face  of  the 
Universe,  and  there  is  no  God !  '  And  the  Silent  Ones 
look  down  and  cease  their  piping,  and  the  song  of  the 
morning  arises. 

"  Red  Poppies  in  the  graveyard.  And  then  Red  Pop- 
pies in  the  smiling  cornfields  in  the  sun.  Read,  learn, 
and  fear  not.    All  is  well,  and  all  has  been  ordained. 

"  Out  of  the  ocean  of  the  Infinite  the  ripples  come. 
Deaf  ears  hear  not  their  murmur.  Blind  eyes  see  not 
their  shimmer,  nor  the  rainbow  on  their  crests.  The 
blind  lead  not  the  blind,  but  they  who  see.  Ye  have 
your  answer. 

"  Hearing,  they  will  not  hear:  and  seeing,  they  will 
not  believe,  and  who  can  change  the  course  of  Destiny  ? 
The  force  moves  on.  Who  can  change  or  check  its 
coming?     Only  watch  and  wait! 

"  Play  with  the  toys  of  Man's  handiwork  —  it  is 
well.  He  makes  his  instruments  out  of  humble  things. 
Your  great  Abbey  of  yesterday  —  a  child's  puppet  — 
nothing  more ;  but  a  great  Impulse  from  the  Eternal 
created  it,  and  the  echo  of  that  Inspiration  is  on  you 
now.  Yesterday,  the  work  in  stone:  eternal  and  ever- 
lasting, the  emotions  it  typifies  go  on. 

[16] 


THE    PROPHECIES    OF   WAR 

"  Even  as  the  ant  in  the  grass,  so  is  your  work  in 
the  eyes  of  the  watchers.  But  through  the  ages  of 
your  soul's  development,  the  seed  shall  grow,  and  as 
architect  of  the  soul  in  the  Life  of  the  Infinite,  ye 
shall  know  the  value  of  that  which  is  now  of  little 
worth.  Strive  for  a  prize  of  high  calling.  Do  some- 
thing well,  and  aspire  to  reconstruct  that  Perfection 
which  Avalon  humbly  typifies,  and  ye  have  an  exceed- 
ing great  reward.     Understand. 

"  Augustus  C^sar.  Imperator." 

"Britain,  Arise!  July  29,  191 1. 

"  That  which  has  been,  shall  be.  New  things 
appear,  but  the  Old  in  new  guise  shall  return. 
Ye  have  been  great.  Ye  shall  be  great  in  other 
garments,  as  Rome  hath  been:  and  in  new  realms, 
new  possessions,  new  joys  —  strange,  but  still 
the  same. 

"  What  change  comes?  Say,  is  your  Britain  of 
today  the  Britain  of  olden  time  —  of  one  short 
hundred  years  ago? 

"When  the  West  shall  fall,  Britain  shall  en- 
dure. The  East  comes  into  its  heritage  in  the 
days  to  come ;  and  as  well  try  to  stop  the  sun,  as 
the  march  of  progress.  But  when  that  Day 
comes,  Britain  shall  remain  the  Friend  and  Com- 
rade of  the  Eastern  nations,  as  she  has  ever  been. 

"Once  the  Friend  —  changed  not  —  just  and 
faithful  to  her  trust:  then  the  Friend  and  Ally 
of  the  nations  of  the  East. 

"  Forget  not :  so  have  comfort.  She  shall  en- 
dure, but  Perfection  comes  through  suffering 
and  catastrophe.     Through  a  sea  of  blood  and 

[17] 


THE   HILL   OF   VISION 

suffering  shall  she  attain  to  her  perfection:  the 
elder  sister  and  the  model  of  their  constitution. 
But  fear  not!  A  higher  Knighthood  than  her 
own  shall  spare  her  in  the  day  of  the  humiliation 
of  nations,  and  with  a  new  growth  shall  she 
flourish  in  her  gates. 

"  But  then  cometh  change,  and  the  soul's  death. 
The  Old  Gods  shall  be  for  a  time  eclipsed,  and 
strange  creeds  and  no  creeds  shall  echo  in  the 
sacred  places  for  a  time;  but  thereafter  a  time, 
and  then  the  leaven  of  the  Faithful  shall  work, 
and  because  it  shall  endure  it  shall  transform  the 
world.  The  great  Truth  shall  manifest  itself  — 
the  Word  as  it  was  spoken.  For  men  shall  strive 
each  for  his  own  truth,  and  shall  strip  the  gar- 
ments off  the  gods,  and  behold!  their  nakedness 
shall  show  the  face  of  the  One  Eternal  Truth 
whose  shadow  all  religions  be ;  and  men  shall  say, 
'Quarrel  not!  Behold!  Your  Gods  are  mine, 
only  we  did  not  understand ! ' 

"  But  the  truth  of  the  East  and  of  the  West  is 
the  same  and  thereby  shall  all  men  marvel. 
"  I  have  spoken. 

"Imperator.     Vale." 

"Demos"  Script 

27th  January,  191 2. 
Note.    The  first  part  of  this  script  refers  entirely  to 
technical  details  of  Glastonbury  Abbey,  and  is  there- 
fore not  printed  here.     The  question  was  then  asked 
"  What  lies  in  store  for  Glastonbury?  " 

A.  Trans  oceana  spes  est.  (Across  the  ocean 
is  hope.) 

[18] 


THE    PROPHECIES    OF   WAR 

Immediately  afterwards  the  following  was  written: 

"  Ruat  ccelum !  Self  and  Luxury.  Demos  rises  and 
would  sweep  away  all  there  is  of  good  and  charity. 
Fear  not  his  swelling  gorge.  He  blindly  snatches  at  the 
fruit  and  will  clutch  the  empty  air. 

"  Those  in  high  places  will  turn  in  just  wrath  and 
rend  him.  He  aimeth  too  high  and  will  fall  swollen 
with  pride  and  with  the  success  begotten  of  the  apathy 
and  kindness  of  those  who  should  rule  with  firmness. 
He  thinketh  he  hath  but  to  stretch  forth  his  hand  and 
the  fruit  will  fall.  Not  so  is  the  Law  of  God  and 
Man  subverted :  and  even  as  the  great  ones  of  the  earth 
have  found  their  mistake,  so  will  this  god  of  clay  fall 
to  pieces  in  his  effort  for  the  god  of  Self.  So  we  have 
said. 

"  The  elements  of  his  ruin  are  in  himself;  and  after 
a  time  and  times,  he  will  turn  and  rend  himself,  and 
the  earth  shall  be  as  it  was  before  he  rose  to  sprinkle 
the  blood  of  the  just  and  innocent  upon  her  breast. 

"Imper:" 

October  26,  1912. 

"That  which  we  spoke  of,  know  we.  The 
'Poppies'  cometh  to  pass  before  the  Day  of 
Christ.  Note  what  we  have  said.  Poverty  and 
Hunger  and  the  War-lust  in  every  land  on  which 
lieth  the  shadow  of  the  Cross.  They  who  would 
be  at  peace  with  their  neighbours  shall  not  be 
able,  for  Peace  reigns  no  more.  War  with  their 
neighbours  is  better  than  war  at  home,  and  so 
the  cause  must  be  made  for  quarrels.  So,  when 
Europe  is  exhausted,  the  reign  of  Asia  will  begin, 
for  there  the  Sun  is  rising.    So  say  we." 

[19] 


THE    HILL   OF   VISION 

The  Later  Script 

The  close  of  the  year  1916,  found  the 
writer  domiciled  in  Bristol,  with  his  friend, 
J.  A.  a  near  neighbour,  and  by  December 
it  had  been  mutually  agreed  that,  in  view 
of  the  greatly  revived  interest  in  the  sub- 
ject of  spiritual  phenomena,  the  experi- 
ments in  writing  should  be  resumed.  Mean- 
while F.B.B.  had  formed  the  intention  of 
publishing,  as  soon  as  might  be  possible,  the 
story  of  the  finding  of  the  Edgar  Chapel. 
A  sitting  on  December  4th,  1916,  led,  unex- 
pectedly, to  the  production  of  additional 
matter  concerning  the  as  yet  undiscovered 
"Loretto"  Chapel,  and  the  upshot  was  that 
he  decided  to  incorporate  in  his  book  "The 
Gate  of  Remembrance,"  all  the  matter  deal- 
ing with  this,  since  the  story  was  now  com- 
plete, and  only  needed  the  spade  for  veri- 
fication. This  was  done,  and  the  volume 
appeared  early  in  the  year  191 8,  which 
brings  us  to  a  new  chapter  of  events. 

The  War  Script  of  19 18 

It  was  not  long  after  the  publication  of 

"The    Gate   of    Remembrance,"    that   Sir 

William  Barrett,  F.  R.  S.,  who  is  so  well 

[20] 


THE   PROPHECIES    OF   WAR 

known  in  connection  with  the  work  of  the 
Society  for  Psychical  Research,  approached 
the  writer  with  a  suggestion  that  he  should 
continue  his  experiments  in  automatic  writ- 
ing—  to  which  he  readily  agreed,  and  as 
J.  A.  also  concurred,  the  sittings  were  re- 
sumed early  in  March.     The  subject  was 
left  open,  and  the  matter  was  approached 
with   a  mind   quite   impartial   as   to  what 
might  be  the  result.    The  first  three  or  four 
attempts  were  entire  failures.    All  that  was 
obtained  was  a  few  lines  of  minute  writing, 
very  irregular,   cramped,   and   almost  en- 
tirely illegible.     At  last  perseverance  was 
rewarded  in  a  small  measure,  and  a  script 
was  obtained  on  the  ioth  of  March,  and 
a  second  on  the  nth,  which  proved  to  be 
of  a  philosophic  nature.    Again  on  the  13th, 
writing   was    produced    in   which    it   was 
possible   to  make  out  the   sense   in   parts. 
It  turned  out  to  be  a  prediction  of  the  future 
course  of  the  war  (see  p.  49).    The  gist  of 
it  was  —  if  we  correctly  interpret  the  very 
difficult  writing  —  that  the  end  of  the  eighth 
month  of  19 18  would  find  the  enemy  weak- 
ened by  lack  of  resources,  and  that  his  re- 
sistance would  collapse  on  the  twenty-fourth 
day  of  August.     The   expression   used   is 
[21] 


THE    HILL   OF   VISION 

"surcease  of  battles"  —  a  term  very  incor- 
rect as  the  event  proved,  though  it  was  at 
this  date  that  the  English  forces  operating 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Bapaume,  made 
their  first  unmistakable  sweep  forward, 
overriding  the  enemy's  resistance  and  to  a 
great  extent  confirming  the  feeling  of  as- 
cendancy which  Foch's  earlier  achievement 
had  inspired. 

The  remainder  of  the  script  seemed  to 
have  reference  to  a  pestilence  of  sorts  that 
was  to  follow  the  harvest,  and  it  would  seem 
that  this  prediction  has  been  in  a  measure 
justified.  It  also  referred  to  a  segregation 
of  the  new  race,  or  chosen  peoples,  but  this 
part  has  not  yet  been  satisfactorily  made 
out,  and  the  script  seems  hopelessly  bad  to 
decipher.1 

Further  trials  were  made,  still  with  little 
success,  and  feeling  that  something  was  in- 
hibiting the  free  action  of  the  subconscious 
faculty  in  the  automatist,  the  writer  was  led 
to  try  the  experiment  of  detaching  the  work- 
ing of  the  conscious  from  the  subconscious 
by  a  new  method.    This  was  as  follows. 

The  next  sitting  which  took  place  on  the 

1  Further  study  has  cleared  up  many  obscure  points  and  the 
sense  is  now  clear.    See  transcript,  pp.  50,  51.     R.  A.  C. 

[22] 


THE    PROPHECIES    OF   WAR 

21st  of  March  may  be  regarded  as  the  first 
of  the  new  series.  Instead  of  mere  conversa- 
tion, to  distract  the  mind  from  the  mechan- 
ical action  of  the  hand,  F.B.B.  took  a  book 
and  read  continuously  from  it  during  the 
whole  course  of  the  sitting.  The  book 
chosen  on  this  occasion  was  Dr.  S.  Honaga's 
"National  Spirit  of  Japan." 

The  result  was  immediately  successful. 
There  was  at  once  a  marked  improvement  in 
the  continuity  and  freedom  of  the  writing, 
which  flowed  evenly  and  extended  to  four 
pages  of  neatlywrittenmatter,  the  lines  being 
well  maintained.  The  subject  of  this  com- 
munication is  the  reproduction  of  hered- 
itary memories  in  human  symbolism  as 
expressed  in  language  and  in  architecture. 
There  was  a  pause  at  the  end  of  the  second 
page,  and  before  anything  material  had  been 
deciphered,  F.B.B.  asked  the  question,  "Can 
you  give  us  anything  on  the  subject  of  'The 
Gate  of  Remembrance  '  ?  "  The  writing  was 
immediately  resumed,  but  on  examination 
afterwards  it  was  found  that  the  subject  of 
the  question  had  been  dismissed  in  a  single 
curt  sentence  and  that  of  the  former  subject 
of  the  script  had  been  continued. 

The  success  of  the  new  method,  and  its 
[23] 


THE    HILL   OF   VISION 

clear  advantage  in  dissociating  J.  A.'s  nor- 
mal consciousness  from  what  his  hand  was 
engaged  upon,  was  so  unmistakable,  that  the 
same  plan  was  followed  out  systematically 
all  through  the  course  of  the  sittings  in  this 
series.  F.B.B.  was  careful  to  see  that  his 
friend's  attention  was  fully  given  to  the 
reading,  and  he  would  frequently  punctuate 
it  by  comments  and  questions,  necessitating 
a  reasoned  rejoinder  on  the  part  of  J.  A. 
It  was  also  his  practice  at  the  conclusion  of 
a  sitting  to  discuss  with  his  friend  the  sub- 
ject-matter of  the  reading,  so  that  he  might 
feel  sure  that  his  attention  had  been  con- 
tinuously fixed  upon  it.  The  result  was 
sufficient  to  confirm  the  conviction  that  it 
had  been  genuinely  given. 

Now  there  are  many  cases  known  in 
which  persons  of  intellectual  ability  have 
been  able  to  give  simultaneous  attention  to 
three  or  four  distinct  subjects,  and  the 
faculty  is  most  commonly  seen  in  the  case 
of  men  of  business  who  are  able  to  dictate  to 
their  shorthand  clerks,  sentence  by  sentence, 
in  rotation,  perhaps  as  many  as  four  letters 
on  different  subjects,  and  yet  retain  the 
several  threads  of  thought  clear  and  dis- 
tinct. But  the  parallel,  though  seemingly 
[24] 


THE    PROPHECIES    OF   WAR 

a  close  one,  is  not  so  in  reality,  and  this  for 
two  reasons.  In  the  first  place,  your  busi- 
ness man  is  in  reality  performing  a  feat  of 
agility  which  is  a  purely  intellectual  one. 
His  attention  is  given,  however,  not  simul- 
taneously, but  consecutively,  to  his  three  or 
four  subjects,  and  all  that  he  is  really  doing 
is  to  jump  with  a  wonderful  degree  of  quick- 
ness and  precision,  from  one  to  the  other. 
And  these  subjects  are  more  or  less  of  kin- 
dred nature,  which  makes  the  transition 
easier.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the  chess 
expert,  who  will  play  as  many  as  twenty- 
four  games  of  chess  blindfold,  and  simul- 
taneously in  the  sense  that  the  moves  alter- 
nate in  rapid  rotation. 

But  here  we  are  face  to  face  with  a  dif- 
ferent problem.  The  reading  is  continuous. 
The  writing  is  also  continuous.  There  is  no 
pause,  not  for  a  moment,  which  can  allow 
mental  breathing  space  for  the  alternation 
of  the  current  of  thought.  And  the  script, 
when  it  comes  to  be  read,  is  on  a  subject  so 
widely  removed  in  quality,  in  nature,  in  its 
psychological  atmosphere,  from  that  of  the 
reading,  that  it  may  be  said  to  have  nothing 
whatever  in  common  with  the  latter.  And 
more  than  this.  Under  such  circumstances, 
[25] 


THE    HILL   OF   VISION 

the  mechanical  action  of  the  brain  would, 
one  would  think,  result  almost  inevitably 
in  the  occasional  picking-up  of  a  word  or 
phrase  here  and  there  from  the  reading  by 
the  common  phenomenon  of  "  metaphasia," 
and  the  reappearance  of  such  isolated  words 
or  phrases  in  the  script.  But  such  a  thing 
has  never  yet  been  observed.  Neither  is 
there  any  similarity  visible  at  any  time  be- 
tween the  literary  style  of  what  is  read  to 
the  medium,  and  the  style  of  the  script. 
The  script  indeed  has  its  own  style,  and  it 
is  a  peculiar  one,  very  different  from  that 
which  is  habitual  to  the  medium.  But  the 
unique  interest  of  the  script  is  this:  that  it 
shews  all  throughout  a  consistent  purpose, 
a  sustained  argument,  a  memory  of  what 
has  been  already  given,  and  an  avoidance 
of  repetitions.  It  shews  independence  of 
view,  common  sense,  and  critical  judgment. 
Therefore  in  assessing  the  value  of  these 
writings  under  the  conditions  stated,  full 
weight  must  be  given  to  the  features  above 
noted,  and  the  possible  presence  of  an  in- 
telligence other  than  that  of  the  medium  or 
of  the  writer  must  be  considered. 


[26] 


the  prophecies  of  war 

Script  of  March  27 

On  the  27th  of  March,  in  the  presence  of  a 
witness,  M.  W.,  a  script  was  obtained  of 
which  the  followingis  a  resume.  F.B.B.  read 
continuously  from  Duhamel's  "New  Book 
of  Martyrs."  The  difficulties  in  communi- 
cation were  described,  and  the  wretched 
quality  of  the  writing  accounted  for  by  the 
psychic  disturbances  consequent  on  the  tur- 
moil of  war  on  the  physical  plane.  In  this 
turmoil  of  emotion  the  passional  nature  of 
the  newly  slain  is  described  as  an  active 
element,  and  the  Earth-spirit  is  involved. 
In  this  script  the  ultimate  triumph  of  the 
cause  of  intrinsic  right  is  asserted,  also  the 
waning  of  the  enemy's  last  great  effort  as 
seen  in  the  slackening  of  his  advance,  this 
being  the  prelude  to  complete  disaster. 
And  the  mutterings  of  coming  trouble  on 
the  Eastern  front  of  Germany's  empire  are 
foreshadowed.  Reference  to  a  chronicle 
of  the  campaign  in  the  spring  will  shew  the 
reader  that  at  this  time  (Wednesday  be- 
fore Easter)  the  situation  was  one  which 
all  the  Allied  nations  were  viewing  with 
the  utmost  apprehension,  and  it  is  now  no 
longer  a  secret  that  the  British  Prime  Min- 
ify ] 


THE    HILL   OF   VISION 

ister  had  prepared  against  the  formidable 
eventuality  of  a  break-through  to  the  coast 
by  the  enemy,  which  would  separate  the  Al- 
lied forces,  and  necessitate  the  withdrawal 
of  the  British  from  the  fields  of  northern 
France. 

Script  of  March  29 

On  Good  Friday,  March  29th,  things 
were  at  their  worst,  and  the  public  mind 
was  full  of  anxiety,  but  the  script  received 
this  day  was  full  of  sustained  hopeful- 
ness, and  contained  again  the  assurance  of 
victory. 

The  dissolution  of  the  central  combina- 
tion was  predicted  in  the  near  future. 
"  Watch !  "  it  reads,  "  on  Easter  Day  the  tide 
will  turn  and  ebb  swiftly  and  consistently." 
Late  on  Saturday  came  to  hand  Sir  Doug- 
las Haig's  cheering  report  that  the  enemy's 
attacks  had  been  repulsed  at  all  points,  the 
full  news  of  his  enormous  losses  being  pub- 
lished on  Easter  Monday,  April  1st.  And 
on  this  day  the  London  evening  papers 
came  out  with  the  headlines  "THE  TIDE 
HAS  TURNED." 

The  script  of  March  29  also  said  that 
"  the  very  elements  would  fight  on  the  side 
[28] 


THE    PROPHECIES    OF   WAR 

of  right."  Now  the  weather  up  to  this  point 
had  been  distinctly  and  consistently  unfa- 
vourable. But  in  a  correspondent's  letter 
to  the  Daily  Chronicle,  dated  April  2,  we 
find  the  following: 

"  Our  soldiers  are  saying,  what  probably  a  good 
many  Germans  are  thinking,  that  ever  since  the  bom- 
bastic Kaiser  declared  that  this  was  his  battle,  things 
have  ceased  to  go  well  with  the  enemy.  The  progress 
of  the  opening  days  of  the  offensive,  which  drew  forth 
this  bragging  claim,  has  been  arrested,  and  on  balance 
the  fighting  since  then  has  gone  distinctly  in  our  favour. 
The  luck  of  the  weather  has  turned  for  about  the  first 
time  that  I  can  call  to  mind,  and  gone  completely 
against  the  enemy." 

Script  of  March  30 

On  the  Saturday  before  Easter,  and  before 
the  better  news  had  been  received,  a  script 
was  obtained  which  again  referred  to  the 
war.  F.B.B.  read  from  Crake's "  Last  Abbot 
of  Glastonbury."  It  was  pointed  out  that 
although  all  material  signs  were  so  far  un- 
favourable to  the  Allies,  yet  this  was  only 
a  superficial  aspect  of  a  different,  and  much 
more  hopeful,  state  of  things,  but  the  forces 
making  for  a  bold  effect  would  not  be 
apparent  till  the  morrow.  The  enemy  was 
in  reality  shattering  his  forces  against  a 
[29] 


THE    HILL   OF   VISION 

barrier  produced  by  the  indomitable  energy 
of  the  Allies,  their  unbroken  communica- 
tions, and  above  all,  by  the  moral  strength 
of  an  honest  cause. 

This  script  passes  to  the  gradual  awak- 
ening of  Germany  to  the  truth  so  long 
hidden  from  her  people  under  a  screen  of 
falsehood  and  intriguing  diplomacy,  now 
wearing  thin.  The  following  remarkable 
words  are  used : 

"  The  awakening  of  the  soul  of  this  great  misguided 
nation  will  be  the  termination  of  its  warlike  force,  and 
a  fresh  force  presents  itself  which  will  destroy  war 
utterly  and  overthrow  it." 

And  it  adds:  "Tomorrow  the  first  great 
sign  of  failure  will  be  manifest  and  what 
follows  we  have  told  you  already."  The 
League  of  Nations  is  foreshadowed  in  this 
script,  and  the  imminence  of  Germany's 
debacle  is  predicted  thus: 

"  The  swing  of  the  pendulum  will  shew  Germany  ere 
long  not  only  on  the  side  of  the  Allies  but  in  the  fore- 
front of  a  new  menace  which  will  ere  long  arise.  She 
who  has  so  sinned  will  thus  work  out  her  own  sal- 
vation." 

And  now  we  have  Germany  appealing 
to   the   Allies   to  support  her   against  the 
threatening  spectre  of  Bolshevism!     It  is 
[30] 


THE    PROPHECIES    OF    WAR 

strange  to  look  back  at  this  Easter  script 
and  see  these  words.  The  script  ends  with 
a  passage  on  the  dangers  of  ignorance  and 
the  forces  of  Ignorance  in  a  world  ruled  by 
intellect.  The  exclusiveness  of  intellect 
and  its  failure  in  sympathy  towards  the 
masses  are  given  as  the  cause  of  the  down- 
fall of  past  civilizations.  But  in  the  script 
following  this  (March  31),  we  are  prom- 
ised that  this  will  not  be  so  again,  as  knowl- 
edge is  now  sufficiently  diffused  to  offer  a 
foundation  broad  enough  and  firm  enough 
for  a  permanent  social  fabric,  established 
by  the  union  of  all  classes  in  the  bond  of 
brotherly  love  which  is  the  basis  of  Chris- 
tianity, which  is  after  all  (to  quote  the 
script)  but  the  inspired  philosophy  of 
earlier  ages  interpenetrated  by  humanity 
made  manifest.  ( The  Word  made  Flesh.  — 
F.B.B.) 

Script  of  March  31 

(Easter  Day) 
In  this  communication  more  is  said  on  the 
nature  of  intellect  and  the  need  for  enlight- 
ened reason  to  control  the  forces  of  the 
emotional  and  intuitive  nature  of  Man.  A 
warning  is  uttered  against  that  abuse  of  in- 
[31] 


THE   HILL   OF   VISION 

tellectual  control  which  has  involved  the 
soul  of  the  German  nation  in  schemes  of 
material  ambition  using  the  weapons  of 
force  and  violence  to  attain  its  ends.  This 
influence  must  pass,  and  yield  to  a  readjust- 
ment in  which  the  moral  and  spiritual  fac- 
tors will  reassert  their  dominance  over  the 
material  side  of  man's  thought  and  will. 
It  ends  with  these  words: 

"  Today  the  balance  changes,  and  soon  it  will  be 
manifest  to  all  the  world.  Let  Humanity  hold  hands 
and  never  break  the  chain.  So  shall  the  influence  of 
the  greatest  pervade  the  whole  in  the  time  appointed." 

Script  of  April  i 
The  script  obtained  on  this  day  (Easter 
Monday)  is  purely  on  philosophic  lines,  and 
is  therefore  not  included  in  this  series.  It 
has  to  do  with  the  genesis  and  the  evolution 
of  the  twin  powers  of  the  human  soul  — 
Intuition  and  Intellect,  shewing  their  re- 
actions and  the  manner  in  which  they  will 
ultimately  achieve  a  perfect  union,  bring- 
ing the  golden  age  of  our  race.  The  meet- 
ing of  the  two  powers  is  compared  to  the 
building  of  the  two  arcs  of  a  bridge,  whose 
Keystone  is  the  Divine  Logos,  Reason. 

[32] 


the  prophecies  of  war 

Script  of  April  17 1 

We  are  told  again  not  to  be  misled  by  ap- 
pearances, the  storm  and  stress  of  the  ma- 
terial happenings  being  only  as  it  were  the 
dark  background  of  a  picture  illuminated 
by  a  manifestation  of  spiritual  influences 
making  for  the  victory  of  Right  and  Truth. 
The  new  offensive,  we  are  told,  was  a  des- 
perate necessity  for  Germany,  in  order  to 
avoid  a  state  of  paralysis;  and  with  our- 
selves, the  further  sacrifice  is  not  in  vain. 
It  is  like  the  pruning  of  a  young  tree,  and 
the  grafting  in  of  new  branches — represent- 
ing a  new  spirit — at  the  very  root.  The 
issue  will  be  a  great  regeneration,  and  no 
sudden  change  of  spirit  is  predicted.  Yet 
in  Austria  first,  and  afterwards  in  Ger- 
many, a  change  of  mind  is  growing  more 
manifest. 

Script  of  April  18 
The  significance  of  the  most  terrible  and 
cataclysmic  of   human  happenings  is  but 

1  This  script  was  obtained  after  an  intermission  of  sixteen 
days,  at  12  noon,  at  25  Sydenham  Hill,  Bristol.  [F.B.B.'s 
address.]  Conversation  had  been  entirely  on  the  subject  of  the 
book,  "  The  Gate  of  Remembrance,"  with  one  brief  reference  to 
the  war  news  which  was  serious.  During  the  writing  F.B.B.  read 
aloud  continuously  from  Edgar  Wallace's  novel,  "The  Council  of 
Justice." 

[33] 


THE   HILL   OF   VISION 

small  as  compared  with  the  birth  of  spirit- 
ual principles.  Even  the  submergence  of 
a  civilization  is  a  thing  that,  in  the  ulti- 
mate reckoning,  weighs  but  little  in  view 
of  the  fact  that  the  Eternal  Purpose,  though 
thwarted  and  set  back  by  Man's  unreadiness 
to  exercise  his  Freewill  in  a  spiritual  direc- 
tion, will  finally  vindicate  itself  and  estab- 
lish the  destined  Kingdom.  On  the  first 
reading  of  this  script,  the  views  expressed 
seemed  to  exhibit  a  ruthlessness  for  which 
the  sitters  were  unprepared,  and  F.B.B. 
voiced  this  feeling  in  a  question,  or  rather, 
a  request  for  further  explanation.  The 
answer  was  given  in  these  words : 

"  May  will  prove  the  statement  that  we  have  made 
and  repeated  to  you.  The  advance  of  the  material 
force  outlines  the  adopted  plan,  and  carries  the  foe 
down  the  fair  lands  that  lie  to  the  west  of  him.  The 
breaking  wave  of  realization  and  truth  sweeps  eastward. 
Therefore  have  we  told  you  the  heart  of  the  foe  grows 
faint  with  fear  and  the  consciousness  of  evil  done.  All 
the  glory  and  all  that  he  rights  for  sinks  to  dross  in  view 
of  the  discovery  that  he  is  deceived  and  betrayed.  The 
bitterness  against  his  rulers  rises  while  yet  his  forces 
sweep  desperately  against  all  opposition  in  growing 
ferocity;  and  the  very  blows  that  he  deals  against  the 
opposition  of  the  Allies  are  but  levelled  against  the 
heart  and  life  of  his  betrayers.  Such  conditions  cannot 
persist,  but  must  break  and  end  in  quick  decline  and 

[34] 


THE    PROPHECIES    OF   WAR 

reaction,  even  as  a  dying  brute  has  greater  fury  with 
his  last  flicker  of  strength,  although  he  knows  his  end 
has  come. 

"These  things  we  say.  This  we  know,  and  (the 
truths)  are  apparent  to  us  in  our  places.  Those,  there- 
fore, who  prune  the  tree  weep  not  for  the  dropping 
leaves  and  withering  branches.  Only  ye  are  the  tree, 
healthy  and  regenerate.  So  rejoice,  and  do  not  sorrow 
ever." 

Script  of  April  19 
We  are  told  in  this  script  that  our  human 
judgments  of  right  and  wrong  are  very- 
faulty.  For  example,  there  is  much  to  be 
said  for  the  older  ideals  of  conquest,  and 
there  is  a  spiritual  purpose  underlying  war 
which  has  hitherto  made  that  terrible  in- 
strument necessary  to  the  Divine  scheme 
of  evolution  in  Man.  And  though  we  have 
been  promised  the  success  of  the  Allied 
cause,  yet  this  coming  success  will  be  "  rather 
in  the  necessities  of  development  in  the 
scheme  of  Creation,  than  in  any  intrinsic 
superiority  of  one  ideal  over  the  other." 
This  we  found  very  difficult  to  understand. 
One  might  almost  say  that  it  was  repugnant. 
But  what  is  spoken  of  is  "  Ideals"  and  not 
"Methods"  and  there  lies  our  human  diffi- 
culty, for  it  is  not  easy  for  us  to  dissociate 
these  things,  and  to  maintain  a  clear  view  of 
[35] 


THE    HILL   OF   VISION 

principles  apart  from  the  admixture  of  ma- 
terial motives  with  which  all  human  activ- 
ities are  of  necessity  amalgamated.  It  is 
conceivable  that  we  should  not  have  been 
disposed  to  think  evil  of  the  German  ideal 
of  World-Order,  and  a  perfectly  organized 
body-politic  under  one  paternal  govern- 
ment, had  she  always  employed  humane 
methods  and  disdained  all  material  and 
personal  gain  and  caste  aggrandisement  in 
her  pursuit  of  this  ideal. 

We  on  our  side,  we  are  told,  have  had 
the  moral  support  of  the  conviction  that  we 
have  battled  for  Right,  for  Liberty,  and  for 
the  support  of  the  weaker  nations.  But 
these,  and  a  hundred  other  intense  convic- 
tions do  but  screen  a  great  underlying  need 
for  commercial  freedom,  and  in  accepting 
the  gage  of  battle,  our  personal  and  na- 
tional activities  have  been  a  powerful 
stimulus.  Yet  the  really  decisive  factor 
has  been  the  superiority  of  spiritual  over 
brutal  methods,  and  this  is  made  plain  in 
the  later  part  of  this  script.  The  argument 
is  elucidated  in  the  following  words: 

"  Ye  chose  the  spiritual  —  they  the  brutal.  In  this 
way  do  ye  differ.  Thus  there  is  a  reason  in  the  uni- 
versal  scheme   for  the  victory  over   Matter  and  the 

[36] 


THE    PROPHECIES    OF   WAR 

principles  of  Matter.  The  survival  of  the  fittest;  the 
best  basis  of  government:  these  engage  on  the  side  of 
the  foe,  and  under  ordinary  conditions  and  in  the  de- 
velopment of  Man's  best  benefit,  they  should  have  won. 
But  as  ye  know,  and  we  have  told  you,  the  Era  of 
Spirit  comes  quickly,  and  the  old  conditions  are  ending. 
Therefore  ye  will  win,  and  thus  the  old  era  ends.  The 
intention  of  War,  the  interpenetration  of  the  material 
force  of  the  victors  by  the  spirit  and  soul  of  the  van- 
quished, is  no  longer  necessary  nor  desirable. 

"  For  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  Mankind  the 
rules  have  been  removed  and  reversed,  because  now  for 
the  first  time  in  the  evolution  of  the  Earth,  Spirit  is 
not  only  triumphantly  dominant  over  Matter,  but  this 
domination  has  at  last  been  necessary  for  the  betterment 
of  Mankind." 

Discursus  on  Prophecy 
In  the  course  of  this  script  occurs  a  re- 
markable passage  dealing  with  the  date 
already  given  for  the  Ending  of  the  War. 
It  occurs  in  response  to  a  remark  interjected 
by  F.B.B.  to  the  following  effect: 

"What  we  feel  we  want  at  present  (be- 
lieving that  it  may  be  helpful  to  many)  is 
something  tangible  connected  with  human 
affairs  that  will  shew  unmistakably  the 
presence  of  a  Guiding  Power."  The  an- 
swer is  as  follows : 

"  We  have  given  you  the  spiritual  ending  of 
the  war  as  on  August  the  twenty-sixth  (sic),  and 

[37] 


THE    HILL   OF   VISION 

the  material  manifestation  may,  and  should,  coin- 
cide. We  have  this  difficulty,  that  though  we 
control  spiritual  forces  which  manifest  them- 
selves in  Matter,  yet  we  are  often  unconscious 
of  the  spiritless  movements  of  Matter  after  the 
withdrawal  of  the  spiritual  work  in  Time.  As 
the  oceans  may  continue  to  heave  and  swell  long 
after  the  tempest  which  moved  them  has  passed 
away ;  and  even  as  conflicts  between  individuals 
may  persist  long  after  anger  and  opposition  have 
passed  from  their  souls,  so  an  outward  semblance 
of  war  may  continue  sporadically  and  inter- 
mittently long  after  the  opposing  nations  have 
ceased  to  desire  it." 

Assuming  a  spiritual  force  as  the  stimu- 
lating cause  of  all  human  motions  one  is 
bound,  we  think,  to  admit  the  reasonable- 
ness of  this  parallel:  and  hence  the  uncer- 
tainty of  any  predictions  of  date.  Even 
among  the  exponents  of  Biblical  prophecy, 
the  fulfillment  of  events  has  even  been  sub- 
ject to  this  same  uncertainty,  and  where 
students  of  prophecy  have  attempted  to  fix 
definite  dates  they  have  in  all  cases,  so  far 
as  we  are  aware,  found  themselves  con- 
stantly at  fault,  for  they  have  too  often  pro- 
ceeded upon  an  assumption,  which  we  see 
nothing  to  warrant,  that  the  precise  dates 
are  preordained  and  predetermined.  It  is 
by  this  means  they  would  seek  to  vindicate 
[38] 


THE    PROPHECIES   OF   WAR 

the  exact  foreknowledge  of  the  Creator. 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  would  they  not  one 
and  all  demand  scope  for  the  active  prin- 
ciple of  Human  Freewill?  And  if  Free- 
will or  Self-determination  be  really  a  domi- 
nant factor  in  the  making  of  Man's  history, 
it  is  difficult  to  see  why  the  course  of  the 
greatest  of  human  events  should  not  be  sub- 
ject to  the  same  limitation  in  regard  to  the 
exact  period  of  their  accomplishment,  as 
the  innumerable  minor  ones.  To  assert  the 
fixity  of  these  greater  ones  in  point  of  date 
would  seem  to  involve  the  denial  of  Free- 
will in  Man,  a  proposition  no  thinking  man 
can  tolerate. 

So  in  lesser  affairs.  Impulse,  Intuition, 
Will,  guide  and  control,  but  human  intellect 
is  the  executive  agent,  and  human  intellect 
is  involved  in  human  circumstances  and  con- 
ditions which  make  for  conflict  of  decision. 
The  captain  lays  down  a  course  and  a  time- 
table for  his  ship;  but  although  the  desti- 
nation of  the  vessel  is  preordained,  the  mo- 
ment of  his  arrival  in  port  will  depend  upon 
the  intelligent  will  of  his  officers  and  crew. 

Again,  as  regards  the  overruling  power 
of  God,  Providence,  the  Almighty  Will  that 
presides  over  human  destinies,  shall  we  be 
[39] 


THE    HILL   OF   VISION 

content  with  the  older  conception  of  a 
purely  Transcendent  Power,  moving  us  like 
pawns  on  a  chessboard,  or  shall  we  not 
rather  think  of  the  Word,  the  Logos,  incar- 
nate in  Man,  untiringly  wooing  and  winning 
his  heart  and  mind  ever  in  harmony  with  the 
transcendent  Will  and  Purpose,  but  never 
at  the  expense  of  his  freedom  of  choice? 

Script  of  May 
DURING  the  month  of  May,  a  number  of 
writings  were  received,  but  without  direct 
bearing  upon  the  war,  except  in  a  philo- 
sophic sense.  A  good  deal  was  said  on  the 
subject  of  what  was  termed  "  the  martyr- 
dom of  Matter"  implying  that  the  general 
break-up  of  material  conditions  as  well  as 
the  sacrifice  of  life,  was  in  reality  liberating 
powerful  spiritual  forces  hitherto  pent  in 
Matter.  And  the  result  of  this  process 
would  be  the  hastening  of  the  New  Era  in 
which  spiritual  conditions  would  assert 
once  for  all  their  dominance  over  Man's 
development.  Another  very  interesting 
consideration  emerges  from  the  script. 
This  is  the  westward  trend  of  human  life 
and  civilization.  The  original  impulse 
towards  westward  migration  is  deeply  hid- 
[40] 


THE    PROPHECIES    OF   WAR 

den  in  the  soul  of  Man,  who  is  generally 
unaware  of  its  spiritual  nature.  Thus  only 
the  material  motives  of  trade  and  conquest, 
or  national  expansion  which  is  a  motive  for 
conquest  are  obvious  to  him,  but  the  higher 
developments  follow,  as  we  see  in  the  case 
of  the  spread  of  religions  westward,  as  the 
script  says.  On  the  other  hand  there  is 
always  a  reaction  of  a  purely  spiritual  na- 
ture in  an  eastward  direction  and  we  get 
a  very  curious  application  of  this  law  in  a 
later  script,  received  on  June  ist. 

Script  of  June  i 

The  instrument  of  the  spiritual  activities 
in  impelling  the  movements  of  the  races  of 
Man  always  westward,  is  the  magnetism  of 
the  Sun,  which  is  described  as  winding,  as 
it  were,  a  coil  of  invisible  wire  round  and 
round  the  globe  in  this  direction,  and  thus 
causing  a  perpetual  flow  of  psychical  or, 
perhaps  it  would  be  more  correct  to  say, 
aetheric,  energies  towards  the  west.  But 
however  mechanical  the  process,  it  has  a 
psychical  side  and  even  a  spiritual  one. 

The  liberation  of  spiritual  forces  through 
the  break-up  of  material  conditions  in  the 
Near  East  has  been  so  overwhelming  that 
[41] 


THE    HILL   OF   VISION 

the  races  of  the  East  of  Europe  are  now  in 
a  state  of  unparalleled  complexity.  Each 
race  is  controlled  in  its  individual  and  col- 
lective aspect  by  the  Soul  of  that  race. 
This  is  in  each  case  a  really  subsisting  En- 
tity, but  an  Entity  in  an  intermediate  stage 
of  development  just  like  the  several  indi- 
viduals of  the  race.  Now  in  Germany  we 
have  an  instance  of  a  vast  and  tremen- 
dously powerful  race-group,  with  a  highly 
organized  race-consciousness;  one  might 
almost  say,  an  intellectualized  race-con- 
sciousness, but  this  controlling  soul  of  the 
race  has,  in  the  case  of  Germany,  been  de- 
bauched by  an  apostate  use  of  Intellect,  and 
thus  exists  today  as  a  race-spirit  drugged 
into  spiritual  coma,  and  yet  growing  potent 
in  the  material  sphere  by  reason  of  its  great 
cohesion  of  parts.  All  its  members  are  so 
much  a  part  of  the  greater  unmanifest 
Entity  that  they  are  all  impregnated  with  a 
spirit  of  blind  obedience  to  the  state,  and 
with  a  swelling  consciousness  of  their  Im- 
perial destiny;  therefore  the  westward  trend 
in  the  material  sense  has  manifested  itself 
with  immense  strength.  They  beat  at  their 
western  frontiers  and  would  batter  down 
all  opposition  and  overrun  the  west  if  they 
[42] 


THE    PROPHECIES    OF   WAR 

could,  but  all  the  while  a  strange  thing  is 
happening  on  their  eastern  bounds.  Their 
spiritual  yearnings  and  ideals,  however  de- 
graded, however  apostate,  are  finding  ex- 
pression in  an  eastward  direction  and  in  this 
respect  Germany  is  a  house  divided  against 
itself. 

In  time  the  material  defeat  in  the  west 
will  weaken  the  material  or  brute  force  of 
the  national  will  to  such  an  extent  that  the 
striving  of  the  spirit  in  the  eastward  direc- 
tion will  purify  it  as  in  a  furnace,  amalga- 
mating with,  and  counterbalancing  with  it- 
self, all  the  fallow  and  uncontrolled  spirit- 
uality of  the  eastern  races,  the  final  outcome 
being  a  new  racial  balance  and  readjust- 
ment. "  Mittel  Europa"  is  thus  a  type  of 
what  the  script  in  many  places  describes  as 
"The  Middle  Kingdom"  of  Matter  and 
Spirit  in  perfect  union,  which  is  to  be  the 
Kingdom  of  God  upon  Earth,  the  "New 
Heavens  and  New  Earth." 

Script  of  June  3 

(F.B.B.  reading  from  Boz's  "Memoirs  of  Grimaldi ") 

In   this   communication   the   state    of   the 

various  nations  of  Europe  before  the  war 

is    analysed    and    their    faults    described. 

[43] 


THE    HILL   OF   VISION 

Belgium,  it  is  said,  had  special  need  of  pur- 
gation, and  there  is  a  hint  of  very  deep- 
seated  spiritual  disease  in  her  body-politic. 
In  France  and  Italy  the  religious  con- 
sciousness   had    gone    astray,    the    Reality 
being  submerged  in  the  Symbol,  so  far  as 
the  orthodox  faith  was  concerned.     They 
perfected  the  symbol,  whilst  forgetting  the 
great   cause   of   the   symbol.     England   is 
censured    for    her    crass    materialism    and 
love  of  pleasure,  but  on  the  spiritual  side 
she  is  absolved  from  the  apostasy  of  some 
other  nations.     Nevertheless  her  "  sins  of 
the  body"  must  be  purged  if  she  is  to  hold 
her  spiritual  freedom  and  lead  others  to 
light  and  liberty.    America,  without  racial 
stimulus,    is   commended   in   that   she   has 
freely,  and  through  a  wonderful  unanimity 
of   individual   conscience,    and    individual 
judgment,  chosen  the  better  part.     Of  her 
it  is  said   that  through  the  strength   thus 
given,  she  will  persevere  to  the  end,  and  her 
counsels  shall  prevail.     Russia  is  a  melan- 
choly contrast.     Her   racial  intuitions,   so 
spiritual  in  their  nature,  are  held  in  bond- 
age to  the  rule  of  perverted  Intellect  and 
thus  she  lies  between  the  upper  and   the 
nether  millstones. 

[44] 


THE    PROPHECIES    OF   WAR 

Script  of  June  5 

This  very  fine  script  is  chiefly  on  philo- 
sophic lines,  and  it  contains  a  warning  and 
an  appeal  to  the  rulers  of  the  Allied  nations 
today  which  we  give  here  in  extenso.  The 
argument  is  that  all  spiritual  truth  comes 
through  Intuition  and  not  through  Intellect, 
though  it  is  only  by  purified  Intellect  that 
spiritual  truth  can  be  successfully  applied. 

"  Given  a  nation  of  intuitive  men  we  can  control  it 
as  we  can  control  prophet,  poet,  dreamer,  and  him  who 
is  using  hi:  intellect  yet  consciously  links  it  to  his  in- 
tuitional soul.  Take  heed,  we  say,  and  in  all  earnest- 
ness must  we  press  the  matter  upon  you.  Take  heed 
lest  in  the  thirst  for  knowledge  and  for  the  control  of 
the  material  ye  educate  your  rising  generations  in  the 
plane  of  the  material  only.  Truly  a  nation  thus  edu- 
cated may  be  as  a  battering-ram  in  the  world  of  Matter 
and  3re  have  ample  evidence  before  you  now.  But  such 
nations,  even  as  through  all  the  ages  —  even  to  that 
cradle  of  Humanity  which  lies  beneath  the  waves  of 
the  Atlantic  —  such  a  nation,  containing  within  itself 
the  seeds  of  its  own  destruction  must  suffer  death  of 
Body  and  Spirit. 

"  Educate  in  the  will  of  Matter  starving  the  intuition 
and  you  break  the  rope  which  lifts  Humanity  to  higher 
spheres  and  connects  material  Man  with  Spirit.  This 
danger  presses.  We  have  watched  the  galvanizing  of 
the  sleeping  Spirit  under  the  influence  of  crucified 
nature  in  the  conduct  of  the  war,  but  this  is  passing 

[45] 


THE    HILL   OF   VISION 

and  temporal  and  unless  those  among  you  who  are  in 
authority  cultivate  equally  the  Spiritual,  both  in  home 
and  school,  and  in  the  university  of  daily  life  the  fate 
of  Humanity  will  be  again  infinitely  delayed  and  cast 
back  into  the  limbo  of  barbarism  which  is  Matter 
deprived  of  soul. 

"  Greece  developed  a  soul,  a  Pagan  soul  which  yet 
was  soul,  though  only  the  soul  of  her  race-spirit  mani- 
fest in  beauty.  But  this  was  not  enough.  It  was  a 
strand  in  the  divine  seven,  but  only  one,  though  lovely 
in  its  earthly  manifestation.  But  the  seven  strands 
must  be  equally  developed  lest  catastrophe  attend  you. 

"  Again  at  this  moment  we  appeal  to  you  as  a  nation 
to  cultivate  the  Spiritual  lest  inevitably  ye  fall  from 
grace  although  blazing  like  a  meteor  in  the  world  of 
time  and  then  drawn  out  like  a  meteor  pass  on  to  the 
darkness  of  the  limbo  of  past  glories." 


[46] 


TRANSCRIPTIONS  OF  THE 
WRITINGS 

PAGE 

Script  of  13th  March,  191 8  ....  49 

27th         "           "  ....  51 

29th         "           "  ....  54 

30th         "          "  ....  57 

31st         "          "  ....  61 

"   17th  April          "  ....  65 

1 8th      "             "  ....  68 

"  19th      "             "  ....  69 

1  st  June             "  ....  74 

"  3rd     "                "  ....  79 

10th  July           "  ....  89 

1 2th    "              "  ....  92 

"  2 1  st  August       "  ....  112 


[47] 


THE   SCRIPT 

Script  No.  i,  March  13,  191 8 

This  script  was  produced  during  the  morning  of  the 
13th  of  March,  at  25  Sydenham  Hill,  Bristol.  Mr. 
Alleyne  was  the  automatist.  Nothing  had  been  sug- 
gested as  a  subject  for  communication,  and  neither  of 
the  sitters  had  had  anything  in  mind  on  the  subject  of 
the  war.  F.B.B.  had  not  yet  adopted  the  method  of 
reading  aloud  to  the  automatist.  During  the  sit- 
ting therefore,  there  was  desultory  conversation.  The 
script  is  difficult,  and  in  many  places  illegible.  In  the 
transcript,  doubtful  passages  are  italicized. 

"When  the  eighth  month  of  the  year  ends, 
failure  will  be  more  evident  in  those  that 
ye  pursue.  The  twenty-fourth  day  will  see 
surcease  of  battle.  The  clear  outline  of 
these  verities  will  shadow  forth  the  reality, 
and  ye  shall  grasp  them.  Proof  is  not 
needed,  but  ye  shall  have  your  proof  for 
others'  sake.  .  .  . 

The  rest  is  quite  illegible.  Writing  was  resumed 
in  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  with  the  following 
result.  The  first  part  has  reference  to  the  segrega- 
tion of  a  chosen  people  from  the  ends  of  the  Earth, 

[49] 


THE    HILL   OF   VISION 

but  only  fragments  can  be  read,  and  some  words  are 
conjectural. 

"  ...  of  the  Israelites,  one  common  stock, 
and  others  including  the  yellow  races  of  the 
East.  .  .  . 

"...  The  chosen  race  is  not  confined 
to  Israel,  but  must  include  all  branches  of 
the  original  stock,  as  yet  unregenerate  yet 
the  oons  of  God  in  mystery,  who  know  not 
wholly  of  their  stock,  and  must  be  purified, 
but  not  yet.  Nevertheless,  a  portion  will 
remain  .  .  . 

Here  only  a  few  words  are  legible,  and  seem  to  imply 
that  Asiatic  Christians  are  referred  to.  .  .  . 

"The  sub-races  are  involved,  east  and 
west.  They  are  of  the  same  stock  and  are 
on  the  side  of  right.  .  .  . 

"...  When  the  harvests  are  ready,  the 
reapers  will  reap  in  peace.  Then  the  plague 
spreads  west  and  south.  They  shall  be  few 
indeed,  but  they  who  live  beyond  the  waters 
will  be  spared.  The  people  shall  be  sifted 
in  the  winnowing  of  the  pestilence,  which 
shall  seize  the  goats  and  spare  the  sheep. 
We  have  said  it.  Watch  and  pray  and  fear 
not:  ye  are  the  immune. 

Then  in  a  different  hand,  very  large:  — 
[50] 


THE    SCRIPT 

"ONE  THOUSAND,  NINE  HUN- 
DRED AND  EIGHTEEN,  IN  AU- 
TUMN, I  HAVE  GIVEN  YOU  THE 
TIME  AND  YEAR. 

"The  race  of  the  appointed  ones  is  se- 
cure: not  ye  only,  but  all  they  of  the  race 
of  .  .  .  count  ye  members  of  the  race. 
All  are  of  the  same  stock,  chosen  and  ap- 
pointed. From  the  seas  none  others  save 
they  who  are  of  the  Race  but  stand  aloof 
for  fear.  Three  are  marked  for  the  penalty, 
and  one  of  these  must  be  purified  in  the 
fire.  Two  war  with  the  body,  and  one  with 
the  spirit.    This  one  must  be  cleansed." * 

Script  No.  2,  March  27,  1918 

Obtained  at  22  Cotham  Grove,  Bristol.  No  sug- 
gestion as  to  the  subject  of  the  proposed  communication. 
F.B.B.  read  during  the  sitting  from  Duhamel's  "  New 
Book  of  Martyrs"  (Verdun  episode).  A  few  words 
at  the  commencement  of  the  script  are  illegible  owing 
to  the  condition  of  the  fountain-pen,  which  blotted. 

"...  The  conditions  of  external  influ- 
ences are  such  as  make  any  impression  al- 
most impossible.  Physical  vibrations  alone 
would  be  sufficient  to  overpower  the  deli- 
cate vibration  on  the  other  plane,  and  when 

1  See  "  Notes,"  p.  128. 
[51] 


THE    HILL   OF   VISION 

in  addition  the  spiritual  world  is  invaded 
by  questions  of  the  most  intense  and  con- 
centrated nature,  it  becomes  a  pure  impos- 
sibility to  do  anything.  The  spirits  of  the 
slain,  earth-bound  and  still  most  deeply  in- 
terested in  the  conditions  of  the  battlefield, 
cause  a  loss  of  balance  in  the  proportions 
of  the  relative  influences  which  interrupt 
every  normal  condition  for  many  hundreds 
of  miles  beyond  the  zone  of  warfare.  One 
influence  which  has  been  observed  amongst 
others  is  that  which  was  once  known  as 
Demeter,  but  it  is  past  for  the  time  being. 
"  Conflict  is  the  cause  of  our  failure.  The 
balance  rises  and  will  soon  shew  a  full  pre- 
ponderance on  the  side  of  intrinsic  right. 
The  last  great  effort  passes  away.  There 
will  be  fluctuations,  but  we  see  clearly  what 
the  seething  world  sees  dimly,  —  the  issue 
to  victory  of  the  Good  over  Evil.  This  is 
inevitable  and  is  a  law  of  nature  and  of 
God.  Have  no  fear!  It  will  pass,  and 
quickly.  The  climax  that  approaches,  based 
on  natural  laws,  will  witness  the  end  of 
the  great  offensive.  Already  hope  works  in 
the  breasts  of  the  leaders,  and  awaiting 
Nature  hangs  breathless  at  the  progress  of 
its  realization. 

[52] 


THE    SCRIPT 

"  Slower,  slower,  grows  the  advance. 
The  hunter  is  entrapped  in  his  own  toils, 
and  after  the  brief  glory  comes  the  tragedy 
of  a  disordered  retirement.  So  great  will 
be  the  disaster  that  the  very  defenders  will 
stand  arrested  by  the  terror.  The  danger 
grows,  and  in  their  heart  the  foe  knows 
that  the  breaking  point  is  growing  very 
near.  They  sense  the  upheaval  of  an  out- 
raged people  in  the  east,  and  already  the 
first  low  rumble  of  the  rising  wrath  is  dis- 
tinctly audible. 

"Afterwards  the  barrier  that  separates 
us  from  you  grows  thin,  and  somewhere  it 
will  break  and  open  a  new  vision  of  life. 
Out  of  evil  comes  good,  and  out  of  the  mire 
of  Matter  in  which  the  Earth  is  now  buried 
will  grow  the  lilies  of  the  Spirit,  beautiful 
and  sweet  and  comforting.  We  have  told 
you  many  times,  this  is  the  end  of  old 
things  and  the  labouring  world  of  War,  in 
a  new  era  and  a  new  dispensation.  The 
Earth-spirit  passes  under  the  control  of  a 
higher  Power,  and  suddenly,  suddenly,  in 
the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  it  will  be  with  you. 
It  is  near  at  hand.  In  your  souls  ye  can  feel 
it,  and  they  who  roll  in  mire  and  conflict 
feel  it  more  even  than  you." 
[53] 


the  hill  of  vision 
Script  No.  3,  March  29,  19 18 

{Good  Friday) 

Obtained  at  25  Sydenham  Hill,  Bristol.  No  ques- 
tions asked  or  suggestions  made.  F.B.B.  reading  from 
Bain's  "  Digit  of  the  Moon." 

"  The  material  success  of  the  offensive 
wanes.  All  will  be  as  I  have  already  told 
you.  Plans  of  despair  lose  their  intelli- 
gence. The  hearts  of  the  leaders  are  al- 
ready failing  them  for  fear  of  the  conse- 
quence of  their  disaster.  The  pact  is  near 
its  end  in  Europe. 

"  Complications  must  arise  in  the  balance 
of  power,  which  is  in  itself  an  ordinance 
of  value  incontrovertible. 

"  The  East  must  of  necessity  extend  the 
sphere  of  influence  under  firm  European 
control  because  it  is  ordained  in  the  nature 
of  things. 

"Where  opportunity  fails  and  evil  and 
decay  take  place,  there  will  be  change  of 
control:  but  where  good  predominates,  there 
will  the  present  order  not  only  persist  but 
be  strengthened. 

"  For  the  Goth  is  ever  turbulent  and  his 
control  is  unsuited  to  the  Eastern  races.  But 
India  needs  the  control  of  her  races  and 
[54] 


THE   SCRIPT 

will  not  turn  from  the  influence  which  is 
beneficial  in  that  it  has  not  betrayed  its 
trust. 

"  Everywhere,  all  through  the  ages,  the 
forces  of  Good  prevail  and  work  out  their 
destiny  even  though  the  outer  and  material 
economy  may  appear  as  failure.  Look  in- 
wardly and  learn  from  history.  Never  has 
ultimate  good  failed  of  its  purpose,  even 
though  destruction  of  the  material  manifes- 
tation may  have  been  necessary  to  its  con- 
summation. Therefore  take  heart  and  fear 
not.  The  balance  again  must  be  estab- 
lished, well  established;  the  one  the  reflex 
of  the  other. 

"  It  is  as  it  were  a  Kingdom  within  a 
kingdom,  and  even  as  the  bud  must  burst 
for  its  full  development  and  thrust  out  fresh 
shoots  that  its  kernel  may  carry  out  its 
destiny,  so  Matter  must  be  all  fractured  and 
destroyed  for  the  progress  of  the  spiritual 
force  contained  in  it.  .  .  . 

"Watch!  At  Easter  Day  the  tide  will 
turn  and  ebb  swiftly  and  consistently.  The 
very  elements  will  fight  on  the  side  of  Right, 
and  be  used  in  the  accomplishment  of  the 
intended  trap  into  which  they  have  fallen. 
The  soul  of  the'nations  to  be  fully  purified 
[55] 


THE    HILL   OF   VISION 

had  to  suffer  to  the  uttermost,  but  not  to  the 
completion  of  destruction,  to  perish.  Never 
so  was  it  ordained  in  the  history  of  nations. 
Never  yet  has  this  world  seen  the  forces  of 
Good  annihilated,  for  always  a  choice  resi- 
duum is  left,  even  though  perchance  im- 
planted in  the  material  souls  of  the  foes  of 
Good. 

"  So  will  it  be  now,  for  the  nations  who 
have  fought  on  the  side  of  Right  have  not 
been  found  wanting.  The  pruning  has  been 
great  and  the  sickle  has  reaped,  but  the 
garnering  is  great  and  good.  The  spiritual 
harvest  being  reaped,  enough  is  left  of  the 
good,  and  for  the  harvest-fields  of  the 
world. 

"Think  you  there  is  no  good  in  the 
Teuton?  There  is  much  good,  and  by 
pruning  it  will  be  preserved  for  future 
generations.  He  has  his  work  in  spheres 
prearranged  and  preconceived,  and  his  im- 
petus to  German  perfection,  if  penetrated 
by  the  good  he  has  opposed,  will  make  for 
a  great  future.  He  has  worshipped  strength, 
and  he  was  wise  till  he  perverted  it  to  lust 
of  power.  He  has  despised  the  other  na- 
tions, because  he  deemed  their  greater 
gentleness  was  weakness.  Now,  he  knows 
[56] 


THE   SCRIPT 

and  appreciates  the  fact  that  strength  is  not 
brutality,  and  that  the  human  philosophy 
of  holy  men  was  not  weaker  or  more  de- 
cadent than  his  own. 

"Already  they  realize  and  understand  it 
well:  and  ye  will  realize  that  there  is  some- 
what in  them  that  was  necessary  to  the  sal- 
vation of  the  world.  Spirit  and  Matter 
must  blend  and  interpenetrate  and  balance; 
whence  the  necessity  for  the  combination  of 
the  Old  with  the  New  Testament  is  thus 
dimly  portrayed.  The  one  without  the 
other  is  but  perfect  in  its  own  sphere. 

"  So  all  comes  under  the  Law  which  no 
mortal  can  understand:  the  necessity  of 
Matter  for  the  perfecting  of  the  Spirit. 
More  we  could  say,  but  what  need  of  more? 
All  will  be  well  in  the  general  balance  of 
the  future." 

Script  No.  4,  March  30,  19 18 

{Saturday  Before  Easter) 

Obtained  at  25  Sydenham  Hill,  Bristol.  No  previ- 
ous question  or  suggestion  as  to  subject.  Reading  was 
continuous  during  the  sitting,  from  Crake's  "  Last 
Abbot  of  Glastonbury." 

"  .  .  .  The  crisis  dominating  the  present 
situation  on  the  battle-front  is  one  which,  to 

[57] 


THE    HILL   OF   VISION 

the  material  sense,  is  quite  unfavourable. 
Various  forces  combine  to  produce  a  bold  ef- 
fect which,  however,  will  begin  to  be  more 
apparent  to  Europe  tomorrow  morning. 

"  The  indomitable  energy  of  the  Allies, 
the  strong  plan  on  which  they  fight,  the 
perfection  of  their  manoeuvres,  and  their 
unbroken  communications,  all  combine  to 
produce  a  barrier  against  which  the  enemy 
will  shatter  the  forces  of  his  army  in  vain. 
Nevertheless  the  good  influences  aforesaid 
are  as  nothing  in  the  balance  as  compared 
with  the  consciousness  of  integrity  and 
honesty  of  purpose  which  supports  their 
souls. 

"  Day  by  day  the  Teuton  nation  awakes 
yet  more  keenly  to  the  truth  so  long  hidden 
from  them,  and  the  great  and  hitherto  im- 
penetrable screen  of  falsehood  and  intrigu- 
ing diplomacy  grows  correspondingly  at- 
tenuated and  impotent.  It  is  this  impartial 
force  which  decides  the  day,  and  once  the 
enemy  realizes  that  he  has  lost  the  offensive, 
his  soul  will  turn  instinctively  to  that  work 
which  his  untiring  individuality  must  al- 
ways procure  him.  For  the  past  forty  years 
the  whole  nation  has  been  blind,  —  cut  off 
from  that  strict  sense  of  truth  which  is  part 
[58] 


THE    SCRIPT 

of  the  soul  of  Humanity.  It  is  always 
dangerous  to  be  insular  and  even  nations 
which,  by  their  innate  sense  of  honour  and 
virtue  might  be  deemed  immune,  have 
suffered  in  the  past  from  this  cause  — 
notably  England,  which,  like  all  insular 
nations,  has  its  dangers. 

"The  awakening  of  the  soul  of  this  great 
misguided  German  nation  will  be  the  ter- 
mination of  its  warlike  force,  and  a  fresh 
force  presents  itself  which  will  destroy  war 
utterly  and  overthrow  it. 

"  This  rehabilitation  and  regeneration  of 
the  nation  itself  and  the  recovery  of  its 
place  among  the  nations,  will  regain  for  it 
esteem  and  mutual  trust. 

"Tomorrow,  as  we  have  said,  the  first 
great  sign  of  failure  will  be  manifest,  and 
what  follows,  we  have  told  you  already. 

"Nature,  and  natural  forces,  drive  hu- 
manity against  the  will  of  its  diplomatists 
into  a  covenant  for  mutual  preservation  and 
protection  whilst  the  swing  of  the  pendulum 
will  shew  Germany  ere  long  not  only  on  the 
side  of  Humanity  but  in  the  very  forefront 
of  a  new  menace  which  will  ere  long  accrue. 
She  who  has  so  sinned  will  thus  work  out 
her  own  salvation. 

[59] 


THE    HILL   OF   VISION 

"Fear  not  Democracy,  if  properly  led 
and  instructed.  Ignorance  is  the  great 
danger  of  a  world  ruled  by  Intellect,  as 
the  senses  are  the  foe  of  Intuition.  Of  old, 
the  war  on  earth  was  between  these  latter 
forces  but  now  it  is  lifted  to  the  higher 
plane,  and  so  the  former  are  the  battling 
forces  in  the  development  of  the  human 
race. 

"  It  will  pass:  but,  till  it  passes,  the  many 
will  demand  knowledge  of  the  few.  There 
will  be  frequent  backslidings.  The  prin- 
ciples, the  intuitions,  are  in  another  sphere 
where  the  influence  of  Good  predominates, 
but  for  the  time  being  Intellect  has  betrayed 
the  Intuitions.  .  .  .  The  failures  of  past 
civilizations  lay  in  the  fact  that  the  jealousy 
of  the  possession  of  knowledge  drove  men 
to  keep  it  in  secret  cults  and  in  the  bodies 
of  societies,  .  .  .  and  set  apart  by  their 
intellectual  superiority  they  forgot  the 
brotherhood  of  Man.  And  at  length  the 
utter  ignorance  of  the  multitude,  unchecked 
by  any  nobleness  of  instruction,  rose  like 
a  flame  and  swept  the  brilliant  groups 
away. 

"Of  what  use  was  the  knowledge  of 
these  groups  to  the  masses  grovelling  be- 
[60] 


THE    SCRIPT 

neath  the  Temple  walls?  .  .  .  Pride  of 
possession  of  jewels  of  knowledge  which 
the  mob  never  possessed  brought  its  own 
reward. 

"  It  is  not  so  now.  Deception  passes 
away,  and  all  knowledge  is  open  to  them 
that  have  the  power  to  seek  it.  And  as  the 
soul  of  Man  ever  aspires  to  those  priceless 
gifts  of  which  even  the  most  ignorant  are 
conscious,  there  is  no  sense  of  injustice  now 
causing  jealousy,  and  the  danger  which  sur- 
rounded the  acquisition  of  knowledge  now 
threatens  no  longer.  Therefore  gain  Knowl- 
edge :  turn  not  from  the  Light.  .  .  . 

"The  Light  of  the  Word  is  the  consum- 
mation of  all  things  human:  the  martyrdom 
of  Matter  and  the  corresponding  growth 
of  the  physical  manifestation  of  the  Spirit. 
We  have  no  more  to  tell  you  now,  but 
ponder  and  be  thankful." 

Script  No.  5,  March  31,  19 18 

(Easter  Day) 

Obtained  at  25  Sydenham  Hill,  Bristol.  Time:  12 
to  1  p.  m.  No  subject  suggested,  but  before  sitting 
down,  F.B.B.  remarked  on  the  difficulty  of  reading  the 
script  recently  given,  and  expressed  a  hope  that  any- 
thing not  understood  might  be  repeated.  The  reading 
[61] 


THE    HILL   OF   VISION 

during  this  sitting  was  from  Crake's  "  Last  Abbot  of 
Glastonbury." 

"  We  have  been  anxious  to  point  out  to  you 
the  danger  of  supporting  an  intellectual 
and  sublime  philosophy  upon  a  foundation 
of  ignorance  and  passion,  and  the  necessity 
for  a  close  cooperation  of  all  strata  through 
the  element  of  brotherly  love  which  is 
the  basis  of  Christianity,  which  is  after 
all  but  the  inspired  philosophy  of  earlier 
ages  penetrated  by  Humanity  made  mani- 
fest. 

"  The  whole  system  of  the  past  was  neces- 
sary at  the  time  of  its  inception;  but  in  the 
very  nature  of  its  constitution  doomed  to 
failure  on  the  physical  or  communal  plane. 
By  its  very  nature  the  only  philosophy  and 
the  only  creed  which  can  persist  is  that 
which  is  developing  to  the  highest  degree 
on  the  intellectual  side,  and  which  yet  per- 
vades and  guides  the  weaker  members  and 
controls  their  thoughts  and  actions  through 
the  unconscious  acceptance  by  the  instinc- 
tive mind  of  the  superiority  of  Intellect  over 
Intuition. 

"  Intellect  is  the  result  of  the  penetration 
of  Matter  by  the  Spirit,  whose  only  expres- 
sion lies  in  Intuition.  Intuition  made  mani- 
[62] 


THE   SCRIPT 

fest  is  the  Word  clothed  with  the  flesh,  the 
Christ  regent  in  Man.  Intellect  is  by  its 
nature  lacking  in  sympathy  with  Humanity, 
and  Humanity  revolts.  Yet  Intellect  as  a 
reigning  force  interpenetrates  the  whole 
future  of  Humanity,  being  conscious  as  a 
vague  force  through  all  the  body  of  Hu- 
manity, and  the  spirit  strives  for  it.  Igno- 
rance and  Intuition  need  guidance,  with 
constant  control,  and  the  controlling  force 
in  the  past  has  lacked  the  physical  power 
to  control  on  the  physical  plane.  The  line 
of  demarcation  has  been  so  sharply  defined 
that  the  tree  has  had  no  root  in  the  soil  of 
Matter.  But  let  the  tree  be  deeply  rooted 
in  the  soil,  and  the  storms  of  matter  and 
emotion  will  beat  upon  it  in  vain. 

"  (  Have  root  lest  you  wither  away.'  This 
would  we  explain  to  you.  Germany  has 
exhibited  a  species  of  deformity:  Intellect 
leading  and  controlling,  but  involved  in- 
dissolubly  with  a  form  of  Matter,  —  Force 
and  Violence.  And  in  this  deadly  union 
she  has  dominated  the  world  for  evil.  But 
for  the  future  of  the  world,  this  influence 
and  association  will  swiftly  pass. 

11  But  some  of  them  remember  that  the 
golden  age  will  represent  the  proportional 
[63] 


THE    HILL   OF   VISION 

blending  of  Intellect  and  Matter1  —  condi- 
tions whose  birth  must  of  necessity  be  at- 
tended by  storm  and  stress  in  both  spheres 
of  influence. 

"  Mutual  yieldings  and  revolts :  the  pangs 
of  birth :  or  rather,  the  actions  and  reactions 
of  readjustment.  The  present  war  is  simply 
an  exhibition  of  this  adjustment, —  an  evil 
growth  to  be  pruned  and  controlled ;  a  sign, 
but  not  a  necessity,  of  quickened  functions 
and  developments.  But  the  ultimate  end 
is  inevitable  and  certain,  and  the  birth  will 
prevent  an  abnormal  and  cancerous  growth 
in  the  body-politic,  Humanity.  Each  mem- 
ber of  this  Body  will  in  time  perform  the 
functions  for  which  it  was  ordained.  But 
blind  obedience  was  not  so  ordained  for- 
ever. The  hands  must  know  the  inten- 
tions of  the  head,  and  be  trained  to  per- 
form their  functions  before  the  work  can 
proceed  without  interruption.  But  the 
training  period  is  difficult  and  fraught 
with  trouble  and  loss.  So  would  we  ex- 
plain to  you. 

"  Today  the  balance  changes,  and  soon  it 
will  be  manifest  to  all  the  world.  Let  Hu- 
manity hold  hands   and   never  break  the 

1  Intuition. 
[64] 


THE    SCRIPT 

chain.  So  shall  the  influence  of  the  greatest 
pervade  the  whole  in  the  time  appointed. 

"  So,  when  the  time  is  ripe,  Life  will  be 
prolonged  indefinitely,  and  Matter,  in  com- 
plete union  with  the  Spirit,  will  likewise 
be  eternal :  but  not  now,  for  Matter  is  not 
purified." 

(The  remarkable  fulfillment  of  the  Easter  prediction  is  else- 
where commented  upon.  The  date  is  attested  by  Sir  William 
Barrett,  F.  R.  S.,  and  Lady  Barrett.  —  F.B.B.) 

Script  No.  6,  April  17,  19 18 

At  Sydenham  Hill,  12  noon.  Conversation  had 
been  on  literary  subjects,  with  a  brief  reference  to  the 
morning's  war  news,  which  was  serious.  F.B.B.  read 
during  the  sitting  from  Edgar  Wallace's  novel,  "  The 
Council  of  Justice." 

"  Consider  not  the  outer  semblances,  but 
in  the  storm  and  tumult  of  Matter  ye  can 
see  instead  a  consciousness  of  the  true  spirit- 
ual influences  of  which  these  signs  are  but 
one  manifestation,  causing  often  what  we 
call  an  antithesis,  the  blackness  upon  which 
spiritual  forces  are  manifested. 

"  Thus,  when  we  told  you  the  change 
would  take  place  on  the  Sunday  called 
Easter,  we  saw  only  the  fact  that  then,  for 
the  first  time,  the  Spirit  of  Right  and  Truth 
and  Justice  would  become  .  .  .  imaged  in 
[65] 


THE   HILL   OF   VISION 

the  souls  of  the  Central  Powers  perceiv- 
ing that  they  had  followed  blindly  and  in 
the  dark  the  commands  of  their  rulers.  .  .  . 
"  Their  souls  are  awaking  to  the  madness 
and  cost  of  their  crime.  Like  sheep  to  the 
slaughter,  they  go  forward,  driven  by  the 
whips  and  scourges  of  their  leaders;  bent 
on  the  suicide  if  chance  fails  them,  for  all 
is  then  lost,  and  only  death  remains.  But 
Spirit  will  defeat  Matter  and  the  victory 
on  the  one  plane  grows  more  complete  even 
as  the  triumph  of  physical  force  becomes 
more  accentuated.  Also  comes  now  the 
reaction  of  the  Spirit-power  eastward,  while 
the  full  surge  to  the  west  and  with  it  the 
march  to  defeat  continues.  The  end  is  al- 
ready discernible,  but  though  Matter  is 
striving  for  conquest  over  Spirit,  at  the 
eleventh  hour  the  effort  of  Spirit  will  be- 
come manifest.  The  contest  becomes  even 
more  perilous :  and  the  Watchers  wait  in  the 
tower.  There  will  be  much  to  do  ere  the 
Spirit  can  triumph,  and  on  the  side  of  right 
and  justice  there  is  yet  much  clearing  to 
be  performed.  Were  peace  to  be  com- 
passed, a  condition  of  Peace  would  tran- 
scend the  use  of  war.  All  is  the  birth-throes 
of  a  Race,  and  they  must  not  be  shirked,  nor 
[66] 


THE    SCRIPT 

hidden  by  false  methods.  Had  there  been 
no  offensive,  the  war  would  never  end 
except  in  stasis  and  exhaustion.  Movement 
was  necessary  to  an  issue  contrary  to  the 
offenders.  With  you,  as  the  power  of  Mat- 
ter fails,  so  will  the  Spirit  strengthen.  It  is 
not  the  decay  of  Destiny,  but  the  pruning 
for  better  fruition  of  the  young  tree.  Have 
no  fear  of  the  result.  The  soil  is  formed, 
and  enriched  by  the  blood  of  the  slain.  The 
spiritual  forces  combine  in  the  running  sap, 
which  will  presently  produce  the  blossoms 
and  the  good  fruit  of  the  tree,  and  on  the 
spathe,  cut  down  to  the  very  roots  in  Matter, 
will  a  new  spirit  be  grafted  in.  Therefore, 
look  beyond  to  the  ultimate  issues;  they  are 
to  perfection  inevitable.  What  matter  the 
suffering  of  the  body  personal  or  national. 
Of  the  signs  of  regeneration  one  by  one 
has  become  manifest;  and  —  what  you  can 
never  realize  —  the  New  Spirit  formed  in 
the  nations  that  need  regeneration.  Who 
can  see  Conversion,  or  grasp  its  utter  mar- 
vel, but  by  its  works?  By  these  a  spirit 
is  manifest,  and  there  can  be  no  sudden 
change.  But  in  Germany,  and  more  prom- 
inently in  Austria  the  change  of  mind  is 
growing  more  manifest." 
[67] 


THE    HILL   OF   VISION 

The  final  passages  of  this  script  cannot  be  deciphered. 
The  writing  is  very  difficult  throughout.  E.  G.  P. 
witnesses  the  date  of  the  writing.  —  F.B.B. 

Script  No.  7,  April  18,  191 8 

There  were  two  sittings  at  Sydenham  Hill,  one  at 
12  noon,  and  the  second  an  hour  after  the  conclusion 
of  the  first.  Only  the  second  script  is  given,  as  the  first 
had  no  reference  to  the  war.  This  one  was  prefaced 
by  a  comment  on  the  part  of  F.B.B.  who  said,  —  "  We 
have  missed  a  good  deal  of  what  has  been  told  us  con- 
cerning the  war,  and  we  shall  be  glad  if  we  can  have 
the  same  repeated."  F.B.B.  reading  from  Dorothy 
Sayers'  "Poems.     Op.  I." 

"  May  will  prove  the  statement  that  we 
have  made  and  often  repeated  to  you.  The 
advance  of  the  material  forces  outlines  the 
adopted  plan,  and  carries  the  foe  down  the 
fair  lands  that  lie  to  the  west  of  him.  The 
breaking  wave  of  realization  and  truth 
sweeps  eastward.  Therefore  have  we  told 
you  the  heart  of  the  foe  grows  faint  with 
fear  and  the  consciousness  of  evil  done.  All 
the  glory,  and  all  that  he  rights  for  sinks 
to  dross  in  view  of  the  discovery  that  he 
is  deceived  and  betrayed.  The  bitterness 
against  his  rulers  rises  while  yet  his  forces 
sweep  desperately  against  all  opposition  in 
growing  ferocity,  and  the  very  blows  he 
[68] 


THE    SCRIPT 

deals  against  the  opposition  of  the  Allies 
are  in  truth  but  levelled  at  the  heart  and 
life  of  his  betrayers.  Such  conditions  can- 
not persist,  but  must  break  and  end  in  quick 
decline  and  reaction,  even  as  a  dying  brute 
has  greater  fury  with  his  last  flicker  of 
strength,  although  he  knows  his  end  has 
come. 

"These  things  we  say.    This  we  know, 

intentions? 

and  the  tendencies  that  accompany  physical 
actions  are  apparent  to  us  in  our  places. 
Those,  therefore,  who  prune  the  tree  weep 
not  for  the  dropping  leaves  and  withering 
branches.  Only  you  are  the  tree,  healthy 
and  regenerate;  so  rejoice,  and  do  not 
sorrow  ever." 

Script  No.  8,  April  19,  191 8 

At  Sydenham  Hill  (morning),  F.B.B.  reading  aloud 
throughout  the  sitting,  from  Dr.  Honaga's  "  National 
Spirit  of  Japan."  The  first  part  of  this  script  has  to 
do  with  abstract  principles  only,  and  is  not  given  here. 

"We  have  given  you  the  spiritual  ending 
of  the  war  as  on  August  the  twenty-sixth, 
and  the  material  manifestation  may,  and 
should,  coincide.  We  have  this  difficulty, 
that  though  we  control  ...  in  the  purely 
spiritual  forces  which  manifest  themselves 
[69] 


THE    HILL   OF   VISION 

in  Matter,  yet  we  are  often  unconscious  of 
the  spiritless  movements  of  Matter  after  the 
withdrawal  of  the  spiritual  work  in  Time. 

"  As  the  ocean  may  continue  to  heave  and 
swell  long  after  the  tempest  which  moved  it 
has  passed  away;  and  even  as  conflicts  be- 
tween individuals  may  persist  long  after 
anger  and  opposition  have  passed  from  their 
souls:  so  an  outward  semblance  of  war  may 
continue  sporadically  and  intermittently 
long  after  the  opposing  nations  have  ceased 
to  desire  it. 

Here  follows  a  short  passage  which  has  not  been 
satisfactorily  deciphered.  .  .  . 

But  even  now  the  combatants  have  yielded 
to  the  spirit  of  peace  and  benevolence  to 
such  an  extent  that  it  may  be  questioned 
whether  any  number  of  the  opposing 
forces  —  other  than  their  leaders,  who  have 
all  to  win  or  lose  by  a  decision  —  are  not 
anxious  to  the  uttermost  to  cease  the 
warfare;  and  the  nations  sincerely  regret, 
and  only  desire  peace,  and  only  they  who 
are  responsible  still  continue  in  active  op- 
position to  save  their  own  skins.  Who 
can  search  the  hearts  of  the  Heads  of 
Nations?  —  for  we  tell  you  but  the  truth 
when  we  say  that  he  whom  ye  call  the 
[70] 


THE   SCRIPT 

Kaiser  is,  and  has  for  long  been,  suffering  a 
martyrdom  of  soul-agony  compared  with 
which  death  would  be  relief.  So  it  is  with 
all  who  have  battled  on  the  side  of  error. 
On  the  side  of  the  Allies  this  is  less  evident, 
for  as  a  nation  you  possessed  and  are  sup- 
ported by  an  original  consciousness  of 
Right,  which  still  supports  you  in  spite  of 
doubts  innumerable. 

"  You  have  comforted  yourselves  with  the 
conviction  that  you  have  battled  for  Right, 
Liberty,  and  the  weaker  nations.  A  hun- 
dred intense  and  meritorious  convictions 
support  you  and  comfort  you,  and  hide  the 
great  underlying  necessity  for  commercial 
and  personal  and  national  activities  which 
were  equally  puissant  in  the  throwing  down 
of  the  gage  of  battle.  The  preponderance 
of  conscious  right  is  on  your  side,  and  added 
to  this,  you  have  waged  a  war  in  accordance 
with  principles  in  themselves  spiritual 
rather  than  material  and  brutal,  and  thus 
your  spirits  are  exalted  above  those  of  your 
foe. 

"Yet  in  both  nations,   the  elements  or 

principles  which  move  to  war  were  often 

identical,  and  mostly  incompatible,  that  is, 

from  the  relative  standpoints  of  the  two 

[71] 


THE   HILL   OF  VISION 

nations.  The  real  reason  why  the  scales 
have  fallen  in  your  favour  is  intrinsically 
this  one  thing:  the  basing  of  your  methods 
on  the  material  and  brutal  or  on  the 
spiritual. 

"Ye  chose  the  spiritual:  they  the  brutal. 
In  this  way  do  ye  differ.  Thus  there  is  a 
reason  in  the  universal  scheme,  for  the  vic- 
tory over  Matter  and  the  principles  of 
Matter. 

"The  survival  of  the  fittest  —  the  best 
basis  of  government  —  these  engage  on  the 
side  of  the  foe;  and  under  ordinary  condi- 
tions and  in  the  development  of  Man's  best 
benefit,  they  should  have  won.  But  as  ye 
know,  and  as  we  have  told  ye,  the  Era  of 
Spirit  comes  quickly,  and  the  old  conditions 
are  ending.  Therefore  ye  will  win,  and 
thus  the  old  era  ends.  The  intention  of  war, 
the  interpenetration  of  the  material  force  of 
the  victors  by  the  spirit  and  soul  of  the 
vanquished,  is  no  longer  necessary  nor  de- 
sirable. For  the  first  time  in  the  history  of 
mankind,  the  rules  have  been  removed  and 
reversed,  because  now  for  the  first  time  in 
the  evolution  of  the  Earth,  Spirit  is  not  only 
triumphantly  dominant  over  Matter,  but 
this  domination  has  at  last  been  necessary 
[72] 


THE    SCRIPT 

for  the  betterment  of  Mankind.  This  do  we 
think  we  have  now  made  clear  to  you,  and 
you  will  understand  in  view  of  what  we 
have  formerly  explained  to  you.  To  sum 
up,  we  will  explain  once  more.  The  enemy 
fought  upon  principles  which,  in  former 
times,  would  have  inevitably  brought  him 
victory  in  that  his  principles  were  for  the 
betterment  physically  and  materially  of  the 
Race.  And  so  it  has  ever  been  until  today. 
And  ever,  when  the  world  has  sunk  from 
a  false  civilization  into  the  darkness  of  bar- 
barism and  ruin,  then  from  this  condition, 
the  blossoms  of  the  garden  are  scattered  and 
diffuse  their  scent  through  all. 

"Thus,  for  the  first  time,  these  no  longer 
must  fall  and  though  after  the  war  there 
will  be  much  pain  and  suffering,  and  much 
pruning  and  grafting  needed,  instead  of  the 
destruction  of  Civilization  for  the  better- 
ment ultimately  of  the  race,  Civilization  is 
adjudged  unworthy  of  this  penalty  and  is 
allowed  still  to  exist,  faulty,  defective,  but 
capable  of  being  pruned  and  converted  to 
higher  perfections. 

"  Thus  in  place  of  the  horrors  of  conquest 
will  ensue  the  pains  of  reconstruction.    This 
have  we  tried  to  explain  to  you." 
[73] 


THE    HILL   OF   VISION 

Script  No.  9,  June  i,  19181 

Obtained  at  Sydenham  Hill,  Bristol,  12:25  p.m. 
F.B.B.  asked  for  further  information  as  to  other  forms 
of  life  in  the  Universe,  to  supplement  a  brief  remark 
appearing  in  a  recent  script.  The  present  communica- 
tion however  does  not  refer  to  this,  and  is  largely  de- 
voted to  a  philosophic  study  of  the  soul  of  Germany. 
This  portion  is  given  below.  During  the  sitting  F.B.B. 
read  aloud  continuously  from  Boz's  "  Life  of  Joseph 
Grimaldi." 

The  script  commences  with  a  description  of  certain 
mobile  and  vital  forces  affecting  Matter,  one  of  which 
is  the  effect  of  the  solar  magnetism  in  inducing  a  west- 
ward trend,  in  animate  Nature,  impelling  tribes  and 
nations  westwards  in  conquest,  adventure,  and  migra- 
tion. This  is  a  physical  effect,  but  there  is  a  corre- 
sponding spiritual  reaction  in  an  eastward  direction,  in 
opposition  to  the  trend  of  Matter.  Here  the  argument 
is  applied  as  follows :  — 

"WHILE  Matter  in  its  pilgrimage  is  im- 
pelled westward,  Spirit,  Intuition  look 
eastward  for  the  source  of  their  redemption 
in  as  far  as  Spirit  is  clothed  in,  and  in- 
fluenced by,  Matter  in  which  it  is  involved. 
At  the  present  juncture,  at  the  present  crisis 
in  the  world's  history,  the  races  of  the  earth 
are  in  a  condition  of  unparalleled  complex- 
ity in  that  the  liberation  of  new  forces  is 
world-wide  and  not  local,  both  physically, 

1  See  "Notes"  at  end  of  volume, p.  125. 
[74] 


THE   SCRIPT 

and  still  more,  spiritually.  And  it  is  neces- 
sary to  be  without  the  body  and  influenced 
only  by  the  spiritual  conditions  in  which 
we  are  meshed,  to  give  anything  like  a  true 
impression,  or  to  master  the  conditions  of 
their  internal  revolutions. 

"  In  the  first  place,  you  have  a  vast  Race- 
Group  or  Race-Spirit,  drugged  with  de- 
ceptions into  spiritual  coma,  and  existing 
only  as  a  vast  physical  manifestation:  a 
nation  existing  simply  as  a  vast,  divided, 
and  materialized  race  spirit-group,  tre- 
mendously potent  in  the  material  plane  by 
reason  of  the  cohesion  of  its  parts:  a  na- 
tion plunged  in  one  direction  under  the 
influence  of  a  swelling  manifestation  of 
what  you  may  call  'Destiny'  as  apart  from 
solar  control,  although  nevertheless  acting 
in  conjunction  with,  and  in  complete  har- 
mony with,  the  Solar  Magnetism.  To  this 
is  superadded  a  control  of  great  intellectual 
forces  which  have  drawn  down  both  spirit- 
ual and  intuitional  influences  to  their  own 
material  level,  and  harnessed  them  to  its 
apostate  intention  to  control  a  world  not 
only  of  Matter  but  also  of  Spirit.  Here  is 
a  complete  and  perfectly  equipped  Macro- 
cosm—  a  Power  of  God  on  earth,  seduced 
[75] 


THE    HILL    OF   VISION 

and  aspostate  and  a  blemish  on  the  growing 
glory  of  the  manifestation  of  God:  a  body 
perfect  and  energetic  in  health  as  regards 
the  work  it  undertakes,  which  constitutes 
PERFECT  MATTER,  but  imperfect  in  that  it 
has  cut  itself  off  with  the  sword  of  Intellect 
from  the  Spirit  of  God  which  should  be 
all-controlling. 

"  There  you  have  the  greatest  influence 
of  the  grossly  material  as  liberated  against 
the  whole  spiritual  Body  of  God  in  His 
Manifested  Self  upon  the  earth.  Follow 
the  law  of  solar  influence.  It  tends  bodily 
westward.  The  material  force,  the  purely 
animal,  tends  to  batter  with  irresistible 
force  against  its  western  boundaries.  But 
the  spirit  chained,  involved  in  that  west- 
ward flow  of  Matter,  and  yielding  partly  to 
its  influence,  yet  even  in  its  apostate  situation 
turns  towards  the  East,  and  as  a  reaction, 
beats  with  invisible  wings  longing  to  spread 
towards  Asia  and  the  East. 

"  In  this  one  detail,  (Germany)  is  a  house 
divided  against  itself:  and  only  in  this  one 
detail.  Were  it  to  combine  absolutely,  no 
western  balance  could  control  it.  But  it  is 
(divided  in  aim1). 

»  Conjectural.  — F.B.B. 
[76] 


THE    SCRIPT 

"And  as  in  the  body  of  Man,  the  local 
failure  of  Matter  can  be  controlled,  and 
eventually  removed  by  the  influence  of  the 
spirit,  the  will  producing  ultimate  recovery: 
so,  in  course  of  time,  the  split  between  spirit 
and  body  in  the  constitution  of  these  nations 
will  at  the  same  time  defeat  its  material 
end  and  right  itself. 

"  But  as  the  defeat  of  Matter  in  the  West 
will  ultimately  weaken  the  material  or  brute 
force  of  these  nations,  so  the  strivings  of 
Spirit  in  the  Eastward  trend  will  purify  as 
through  a  furnace,  amalgamating  with,  and 
counterbalancing  with,  itself  all  the  fallow 
and  uncontrolled  spirituality  of  the  Eastern 
races;  whence  returning  victor  over  the 
westward  materialism  of  their  body,  to 
an  ultimate  combination  or  recombination 
from  within,  their  weakened  will  chastened. 
Thus  several  of  the  nations  will  balance  and 
readjust  into  a  grouping  favourable  to  the 
ultimate  perfecting  of  the  whole  race  of 
Man  throughout  the  world. 

"  So  far  we  have  indicated  the  trend  of 
events  in  the  Middle  Kingdom  of  the  world 
of  gross  Matter;  the  escape  of  the  apostate 
spirit;  the  regeneration  of  that  spirit;  the 
return,  and  the  ultimate  perfecting  of  the 
[77] 


THE   HILL   OF   VISION 

Middle  Kingdom,  not  for  the  expression  of 
Matter  only,  but  for  the  elevation  of  that 
forceful  combination,1  through  the  cruci- 
fixion of  adversity,  to  the  higher  state  of 
the  Middle  Kingdom  of  the  Spirit. 

"Thus  let  us,  looking  from  afar,  turn  our 
attention  to  the  position  of  the  other  nations 
of  the  world.  Remember  that  the  ultimate 
End  to  be  arrived  at  through  the  wondrous 
influence  of  Spirit  is  the  perfection  of  Man, 
first  to  a  perfected  Kingdom  in  Matter,  and 
after  that  to  a  perfected  Kingdom  in  that 
intermediate  sphere  which  is  Heaven  upon 
Earth,  for  which  end  He  who  tends  and 
watches  guards  you  from  stagnation,  from 
Spirit  confused  and  enmeshed  in  influences 
of  Intellect — plus — Matter,  influences  that 
though  not  expressing  themselves  in  the 
plane  of  Nature,  and  sometimes  temporal 
in  that  they  were  contributing  (though  usu- 
ally in  a  covert  and  harmful  degree)  to 
the  solution  of  the  Conquest  of  Matter  by 
Spirit,  nevertheless  produced  a  condition  of 
stagnation  and  balance  which  refused  to 
modify  the  balance  of  the  scales  to  any  ap- 
preciable extent:  a  condition  which  called 
for  similar  treatment  to  that  accorded  to  the 

1  I.e.,  Germany. 
[78] 


THE    SCRIPT 

human  body  in  a  similar  condition.  That 
which  ye  call  a  caustic  irritant  was  applied. 
Now,  when  the  inflammation  is  departed, 
the  progress  may  be  recommenced,  and  even 
as  the  pain  of  the  knife  or  the  blister  arouses 
the  Spiritual  through  the  medium  of  pain 
in  Man,  so  the  anguish  of  a  suffering  world 
is  reawakening  the  dormant  spirit  to  greater 
upward  effort  to  resume  control  of  Matter, 
and  to  a  progress  rapid  in  the  ratio  of  its 
material  suffering — which  is  as  naught  in 
the  scale  of  the  ultimate  intention. 

"We  have  more  to  say,  and  will  continue 
in  spite  of  the  tumult  of  the  confused  issues 
of  the  material  plane,  seeking  to  give  you 
some  idea  of  the  balance  of  spiritual  and 
material  elements  for  which  the  warring 
nations  are  responsible. 

"  Sufficient  that  the  growth  of  the  Spirit- 
ual is  infinitely  in  excess  of  the  suffering 
of  the  Material  which  is  now  so  evident  to 
you." 

Script  No.  io,  June  3,  191 8 

Obtained  at  Sydenham  Hill,  Bristol,  12:20  p.m. 
F.B.B.  reading  aloud  from  Boz's  "  Memoirs  of 
Grimaldi." 

This  script  picks  up  the  thread  of  the  argument 
elaborated   in  the  last,   and  proceeds  to  describe   the 

[79] 


THE    HILL   OF   VISION 

spiritual  condition  of  the  nations  opposed  to  Germany 
in  the   war. 

"  Following  on  our  late  discourse,  we 
would  turn  to  the  other  side  of  the  picture. 
Here  we  are  involved  in  a  far  more  complex 
condition  of  affairs.  .  .  . 

"...  Thus  in  the  first  place,  though  to 
outward  appearance  the  whole  subject  seems 
to  differentiate  itself  into  two  issues, — 
Right  and  Wrong,  Liberty  and  Slavery, 
Divine  and  Diabolical,  —  this  difference  is 
more  apparent  on  the  surface  than  in  its 
true  inwardness. 

"To  commence  with:  by  taking  the  psy- 
chical conditions  of  the  various  oldest  na- 
tions individually  instead  of  in  their  com- 
plexity of  combination,  it  is  obvious  to  you 
and  ourselves  that  the  soul  of  Belgium  was 
degraded  by  her  vanity,  her  moral  deprav- 
ity, her  love  of  money,  her  treatment  of 
those  lower  orders  of  humanity  entrusted 
to  her  care. 

"  But  also  the  collective  and  individual 
life  of  her  inhabitants  left  much  to  be  de- 
sired in  matters  of  propriety  and  rectitude. 
There  was  disease  in  the  body-politic  which 
called  for  treatment.  And  though  the  inter- 
ference was  drastic,  overwhelming,  and  ap- 
[80] 


THE    SCRIPT 

parently  out  of  proportion  to  the  disease  it 
was  called  in  to  combat,  yet  the  apparent 
discrepancy  is  partly  due  to  circumstances 
other  than  the  present  intention  of  spiritual 
control.  For  geographical  reasons  and 
other  physical  causes  combine  to  explain 
the  results. 

"  Yet  great  as  the  purging,  great  will  be 
the  reward,  and  the  cleansing  of  the  soul  of 
this  nation  will  initiate  the  revival  and  de- 
velopment of  a  spirit  whose  glory  has  never 
yet  been  equalled  in  the  history  of  Fleming 
or  Walloon. 

"  But,  as  we  have  indicated,  there  was  a 
totally  unappreciated  contamination  in  the 
kingdom,  which  had  to  be  eradicated  ere 
the  spiritual,  the  artistic,  the  really  great 
genius  of  the  nation  finds  unrestricted  play. 

"Then,  following  in  a  sequence  geo- 
graphically, it  is  reasonable  to  couple  both 
France  and  Italy  in  one  common  nation- 
ality. Each  the  product  of  a  greatly  gifted 
race,  the  Latin;  each  especially  provided 
by  the  spirit  of  Nature,  —  the  collective 
Race-spirit,  —  with  extreme  talents,  and  a 
corresponding  race-mentality,  each  has 
failed,  that  the  spirit  of  each,  whilst  de- 
veloping along  lines  of  Art  which,  in  the 
[81] 


THE    HILL   OF   VISION 

welding  of  the  material  with  the  expres- 
sion of  the  spiritual,  were  yet  unconscious  of 
the  inner  meaning  of  the  symbolism  which 
they  portrayed.  They  perfected  the  Sym- 
bol whilst  forgetting  the  great  Cause  of  the 
Symbol.  And  for  this  they  were  not  al- 
together responsible,  in  that  each  nation 
has  been  suffering  so  long  from  the  influence 
(and  the  reaction  from  the  influence)  of 
a  type  of  Catholicity  which  has  concen- 
trated for  so  long  its  spiritual  motive  on 
the  perfection  and  glory  of  its  symbolism. 
The  spirit  was  there,  but  occluded  by  the 
magnificence  and  spectacular  materialism 
of  its  forms  and  symbols. 

"  Here  we  digress,  to  draw  your  attention 
to  the  corruption  of  reason,  judgment,  and 
intuition  to  gain  temporal  power,  and  the 
darker  ends  which  conduce  to  the  temporal 
power. 

"  In  England,  on  the  other  hand  the 
spiritual  was  openly  expressed  in  the  sym- 
bol, and  with  a  true  appreciation  of  the 
Original.  The  heart  was  sound,  the  brain 
was  sound,  but  the  body  given  over  to  its 
own  desires  and  to  the  acquisition  of  that 
profit  which  should  minister  to  its  desires, — 
thus  knowingly  and  consciously  surrender- 
[82] 


THE    SCRIPT 

ing  and  prostituting  its  conscious  rectitude 
to  the  claims  of  Matter,  and  this  through  a 
most  practical  and  natural  expression  of 
national  genius.1 

"  The  apostasy  was  not  in  spirit,  although 
the  results  in  the  material  plane  were 
equally  potent  for  evil,  by  reason  of  the 
great  authority  of  that  nation  in  the  material 
plane.  From  those  is  much  expected  if  they 
be  greatly  gifted  in  the  spiritual,  the  in- 
tuitional; but  from  those  who  are  more 
especially  material  in  the  balance  of  Nature, 
less  is  demanded  in  the  spiritual,  although 
more  is  expected  in  the  material  plane. 

"And  the  next:  that  complex  group 
across  the  Atlantic.  There  is,  in  the  nation, 
the  Group-spirit,  only  a  complex  combina- 
tion of  many  orders  of  Spirit  and  Matter 
from  the  spirit-groups  of  the  whole  world. 
Even  so;  and  it  is  to  the  credit  of  this 
Continent  of  Humanity  that  failing  to  be 
led  by  one  consent  through  the  medium  of 
its  Race-spirit,  —  that  medium  which  is  so 
potent  in  the  nation  to  which  it  is  now  op- 
posed, it  nevertheless,  in  its  separate  units, 
did  at  length  after  long  delay  and  contra- 

1  Does  this  refer  to  England's  talent  for  commercial  adven- 
ture?—F.B.B. 

[83] 


THE    HILL   OF   VISION 

diction  and  cross-purpose,  respond  with 
one  heart  to  the  call  of  that  Law  of  Nature 
which  is  above  all  tribal  groupings;  and  like 
one  individual  intelligent  corporation  came 
forward,  as  one  great  country  putting  itself 
on  the  side  of  intrinsic  Right.  This  being 
so,  there  is  no  going  back;  but  committed 
with  the  force  of  their  own  individual  in- 
tuition to  the  support  of  this  Great  Law, 
which  is  God,  in  that  it  is  the  direct  repro- 
duction of  God  in  His  body  of  matter,  they 
will  never  fail  nor  change  until  the  canker 
be  removed. 

"  Young,  inchoate,  incapable  of  express- 
ing the  Spirit  on  this  plane  of  Matter  by 
reason  of  the  lack  of  experience  of  their 
body-politic  so  to  express  itself,  it  yet  speaks 
with  no  uncertain  voice,  and  shall  prevail. 

"The  other,  the  solitary  land  which 
should  guard  the  East,  has  fallen,  in  that 
its  undeveloped  intuitions  have  fallen  an 
easy  prey  to  the  intellectual  control  of  the 
developed  force  within  and  without. 

"  In  spirit,  she  has  also  forgotten  the 
Great  Original  in  the  glory  and  complexity 
of  her  symbolism.  And  her  intuition,  de- 
prived of  the  ballast  of  experience  and  ma- 
terial judgment,  has,  like  all  power  uncon- 
[84] 


THE    SCRIPT 

trolled,  broken  out  in  the  direction  of  least 
resistance,  following  dimly  in  its  unde- 
veloped sense  of  goodness  the  instincts  of 
the  Law  of  Nature,  otherwise  Love  and 
Humanity:  but  like  a  crowd,  unable  to 
express  itself,  it  has  perverted  a  right  in- 
tention to  the  selfishness  of  libertinism,  mis- 
taking license  for  freedom,  and  the  tawdry 
glitter  of  the  grossly  material  manifestation 
for  the  high  ideal.1  Here,  as  you  will  ob- 
serve, the  humanity  of  the  whole  world  lies 
between  the  upper  and  the  nether  millstone. 
Intent  on  destroying  tyranny,  it  stands  in 
danger  of  being  ground  to  atoms  by  the 
lower.  For  Humanity  senses  its  spiritual 
ideal  in  a  true  brotherhood  of  Man,  bound 
from  head  to  foot  in  a  manifold  and  many- 
coloured  mesh  of  love,  human  and  divine. 
This  is  the  true  Democracy,  grounded  and 
founded  on  brotherhood  and  love  of  God 
and  Man;  Love  which  penetrates  through 
every  pore  not  only  of  Humanity  but  of  the 
whole  of  Creation,  —  God's  Body  mani- 
fest: not  with  equality  of  the  individual 
components,  but  in  the  equality  of  Sons  of 
God,  —  cells  in  His  Divine  Body,  but  un- 

1  The  actual  script  reads  high  ideal  for  the  tawdry  glitter,  13c. 
which  is  obviously  a  metathesis.  —  F.B.B. 

[85] 


THE   HILL   OF   VISION 

equal,  if  so  ye  deem  inequality,  in  the  way 
of  purpose.  This  is  the  true  government, 
and  it  is  inevitably  approaching  with  ac- 
celerated motion,  —  not  the  so-called  De- 
mocracy, which  is  sovereignty  reversed,  the 
Feet  of  Clay  in  power  and  controlling  that 
which  is  over  highly  specialized,  but  that 
Humanity  which  is  the  original  intent  of 
Christianity  bound  in  undying  love  and 
sympathy  but  still  a  Government  of  all  in 
Love,  by  the  higher  and  specialized  ele- 
ments and  intellects  of  the  least  material 
among  the  masses:  equal  in  intuition  as 
Sons  of  God,  but  unequal,  in  that  material 
mastery  and  in  that  intellectual  comprehen- 
sion and  expression  which  make  for  the 
true  and  steady  differentiation  into  the  aris- 
tocracies and  the  intellectuals.  These  shew 
a  difference.  .  .  .  Great  the  power  of  pure 
intellect  with  the  power  of  perfect  sym- 
pathy. The  true  aristocrat,  the  intuitive 
leader,  the  great  soul  or  passion,  needs  In- 
tellect, needs  Mind,  but  rules  by  virtue  of 
that  Sympathy  intuitive  and  divine.  Thus 
each  specialised  cell  in  the  Divine  Body 
of  Humanity  should  contribute  to  the  per- 
fect whole;  not  following  that  common  law 
of  the  lowest  instincts  of  jealousy,  envy,  and 
[86] 


THE    SCRIPT 

cupidity,  misnamed  Democracy,  but  rather 
in  that  higher  system  of  which  Kingship 
and  its  accompanying  system  of  government 
is  the  nearly  perfect  symbol,  but  which,  in 
its  spiritual  perfection,  has  never  yet  been 
manifest  on  earth,  by  reason  of  the  selfish- 
ness or  folly  of  imperfect  human  nature 
enmeshed  in  the  material. 

"  There  is  Freewill  in  Nature  as  in  Man 
individually,  and  also  in  the  great  law  of 
Nature  which  is  the  complete  expression 
not  only  of  God  in  Nature,  but  of  God  in 
Humanity.  The  war,  terrible  though  it  is 
in  its  present  aspect,  yet  by  its  awakening 
of  brotherly  love,  and  its  stimulating  of  the 
Spirit,  has  saved  the  whole  world  of  Man 
from  a  thing  infinitely  more  terrible,  —  the 
influence  of  Matter  in  the  materialization 
of  the  masses,  to  the  destruction  of  all  things 
spiritual. 

"This  would  have  been  the  apostasy  not 
of  a  race-spirit  under  the  control  of  Intellect 
which  started  as  a  possessor  of  Spirit  (with 
which  it  is  in  nearer  association),  but  the 
surrender  to  the  insane  control  of  the  Beast 
in  Man  impelled  by  exigent  and  unspiritual 
impulse  to  the  destruction  of  all  that  is  true 
and  lovely  and  spiritual  in  this  world  below. 
[87] 


THE    HILL   OF   VISION 

Beware!  ye  ravers.  Beware!  ye  fanatics,  ye 
perverted  and  unbalanced  dreamers  of 
great  things  that,  raving  in  the  land,  are 
leading  and  directing  the  Brute,  the  true 
Beast  of  the  Apocalypse. 

"  Ye  not  only  involve  yourselves,  but  the 
whole  world  of  your  ideals  in  one  common 
ruin,  and  by  misdirected  freewill  which  is 
entirely  perverted,  set  back  the  clock  for 
generations.  Now  is  the  appointed  time, 
for  now  Self  and  its  infirmities  are  the 
pendulum  swinging  to  the  darkest  night  of 
barbarism. 

"Follow  the  Spirit!  Yield  to  the  in- 
fluence of  the  Divine,  which  would  fain 
control  you,  —  and  the  world  advances  by 
the  longest  stride  it  has  ever  taken,  to  the 
borders  of  the  Kingdom,  the  Millenium. 

"Darkness  and  Light!  Self  and  God; 
appeal  to  the  lowest  and  the  highest. 
Which,  in  the  relief  from  the  impending 
menace,  will  ye  accept?" 

Script  No.  ii 

Including  Parts  of  Writings  of  July  10  and  12 

The  script  of  July   IO  was  unfinished,   and  at  the 
next  sitting,   two   days   later,   the   thread  of   the  first 
was  resumed.     A  portion  of  these  scripts  is  reserved 
[88] 


THE    SCRIPT 

for  future  publication,  as  it  is  hardly  relevant  to  the 
subject-matter  of  the  present  volume.  Both  scripts 
are  very  difficult  to  decipher  and  neither  was  tran- 
scribed until  December,  191 8.  The  parts  here  given 
may  be  taken  in  conjunction  with  the  fragmentary 
script  of  March  13. 

From  Script  of  July  io 
"We  would  point  out  that  the  simplicity 
and  lack  of  complexity  in  the  personalities 
of  the  members  of  a  clan,  and  the  identity 
of  their  ancestry,  will  make  for  greater  re- 
sponse intuitively  to  the  vibrations  of  each. 
The  question  of  sympathetic  vibration  is 
the  key  to  all  communication  and  expres- 
sion of  Personality  between  both  God  and 
Man,  for  Sympathy  responds  and  Antip- 
athy is  a  dissonance  and  makes  for  chaos 
in  Life  and  Nature. 

"  Strange  to  say,  this  vibrational  influence, 
in  as  far  as  the  material  and  non-spiritual 
vibrations  are  concerned,  is  intensified  in 
the  bulk  and  mass  of  non-living  Matter 
which  constitutes  a  district  or  country  — 
which  means  that  the  Race-Spirit,  as  you 
call  it,  resides  rather  in  that  inanimate 
Matter  than  in  the  bodies  of  living  persons. 
This  will  explain  the  longing  for  home 
which  possesses  all  older-established  races. 
[89] 


THE    HILL   OF   VISION 

And  although  the  constitution  of  boun- 
daries is  usually  held  to  be  a  purely  artifi- 
cial arrangement,  this  is  not  so:  but  is  in- 
stead the  non-conscious  obedience  of  the 
living  to  the  dictates  of  the  Racial  Spirit 
which  resides  perpetually  in  the  lands 
which  races  have  long  inhabited. 

"Thus  when  boundaries  are  infringed, 
the  Race-Spirit  is  in  revolt:  inhabiting  its 
environment  but  called  upon  to  act  on  a  liv- 
ing medium  which  is  foreign  to  its  nature. 
Thus,  and  in  consequence,  one  of  two  things 
must  happen:  either  the  boundaries  must 
be  rectified,  or  the  invading  race  must  be 
transformed  to  the  likeness  and  character- 
istics of  the  race  which  it  has  transplanted. 
This  will  not  always  be  apparent,  for  in  the 
course  of  generations  it  very  often  happens 
that  the  races  which  once  possessed  the  land 
return  as  conquerors  to  the  land  of  their 
fathers;  and  this  has  happened  more  often 
than  the  living  are  wont  to  realize. 

"  But  in  the  war  which  is  now  raging, 
races  absolutely  and  essentially  contrasting 
are  in  strange  territory,  and  until  this  is 
adjusted,  there  can  be  no  peace  whatever. 
The  spirit  of  the  Latin  will  never  accept 
the  Teuton,  though  he  may  gain  a  fortune 
[90] 


THE    SCRIPT 

with  Slavs  and  Flemings,  though  as  regards 
the  latter,  with  difficulty  and  resentment. 
But  the  storm  passes  and  the  moral  force  of 
the  Teuton  expansion  is  even  now  fully  ex- 
pended and  the  wider  significance  of  their 
offensive  is  now  past. 

"They  may  rush  and  they  may  charge 
into  new  territory,  but  the  spirit  is  dead  and 
powers  of  Earth  over  which  they  would 
have  control  are  now  opposing  and  defeat- 
ing them.  Their  residence  in  the  conquered 
lands  is  even  now  altering  and  converting 
the  invader  to  a  semblance  of  the  natives  he 
has  slain.1 

"As  we  said,  the  End  approaches,  and 
four  years,  and  the  period  of  resistance  of 
Matter  will  see  the  end.  Russia  awakens. 
Her  soul  calls  her"  .  .  .  (here  the  script 
was  interrupted). 

I  interpret  this  as  meaning  four  years  plus  the 
period  of  the  resistance  of  Matter;  connecting  this 
passage  with  the  notion  elsewhere  found  of  the  con- 
tinued movement  of  the  waters  after  the  storm  has 
subsided.  —  F.B.B. 

1  Compare  Count  Hertling's  opinion,  quoted  on  p.  128. 
It  would  be  interesting  to  learn  that  there  is  any  warrant  for 
this  strange  statement  in  observed  facts.  —  F.B.B. 


[91] 


the  hill  of  vision 
Script  of  July  12 

Only  a  few  words  of  the  last  script  had  been  de- 
ciphered when  this  sitting  commenced.  F.B.B.  had 
seen  that  it  had  some  bearing  on  the  war,  and  as  it 
had  been  necessary  to  break  off,  he  commenced  the  pres- 
ent sitting  with  the  question:  —  "You  were  telling 
us  something  of  the  War  and  the  relations  of  the  dif- 
ferent races  involved,  but  we  were  obliged  to  break 
off.  Will  you  please  say  more  on  this  subject?  Do 
you  still  adhere  to  the  date  given  for  the  end  ?  When 
are  we  to  expect  Germany's  great  debacle  in  the 
West?" 

"You  will  understand  therefore  that  the 
limitations  of  boundaries,  or  rather,  the  re- 
sults of  grouping,  have  their  several  condi- 
tions, the  Race-Spirit  being  confined  as  a 
rule  to  certain  areas  which  we  have  pre- 
viously referred  to  as  Nodes  or  spheres  of 
Influence  in  the  general  magnetic  field  of 
the  Earth. 

"To  appreciate  this,  you  must  first  ap- 
preciate the  close  connection  between  Life 
and  Electricity;  Electricity  being  in  fact 
the  vehicle  of  Life,  the  connecting  link,  the 
flux  of,  and  from,  Spirit  to  Matter.1 

"This  influence  being  entirely  spiritual, 
fields  of  influence  quite  ubiquitous  can  be 

1  This  was  in  a  script  dated  26  April. 
[92] 


THE    SCRIPT 

drawn  upon  by  the  powers  of  incarnate 
Man,  and  can  be  concentrated  by  reactions 
of  Matter  .  .  .  but  these  conditions  will 
only  procreate  Life,  and  not  the  Entity, 
which  demands  the  Involution  of  Spirit 
rather  than  its  influence  from  without. 
Nevertheless  as  the  prototypal  energy  of 
Spirit  is  involuted  in  nodes,  its  influence  is 
manifest  even  without  individual  effort  or 
expression.1 

"Nevertheless  once  in  this  world's  his- 
tory, a  tribe  or  clan,  by  the  exerciseof  com- 
mon consent,  —  or  rather,  as  an  early  exhi- 
bition of  Freewill  in  a  group  of  entities 
acting  by  common  consent  as  a  consequence 
of  blood-relationship  and  to  a  still  greater 
degree  by  the  unit  interaction  and  intuition 
of  advanced  thinkers  (commencing  in  a 
specialized  branch  of  religious  intuition), 
did  separate  itself  from  the  community  of 
Mankind  and  stand  aloof  from  the  Race  of 
Man.2 

"This  was  a  preliminary  to  the  final  ad- 
vent of  conscience  and  freewill  in  the  indi- 
vidual, for  with  its  advent — the  prospect 

1  A  paraphrase  of  this  very  obscure  passage  is  attempted  at 
the  end  of  the  transcript.  —  F.B.B. 

2  The  sequence  of  the  script  is  altered  here  for  the  purpose  of 
clearness.  —  F.B.B.  j 

This  obviously  refers  to  the  segregation  of  the  Israelites. 

[93] 


THE   HILL   OF   VISION 

of  Individuality — Personal  —  comes  .  .  . 
the  reception  of  a  personal  responsibility  be- 
fore unknown  save  in  the  accepted  Vehicle 
for  such  responsibility,  possessed  of  Free- 
will throughout  the  Earth:  and  the  Birth 
of  the  Christus  in  the  individual  became 
thus  manifest. 

"  With  the  Tribes  of  the  original  number 
scattered  over  the  earth,  responsible  each 
according  to  his  environment,  do  you  doubt 
that  the  Vision  of  the  Shepherds  on  the 
moonlit  plains  of  Judea  was  indeed  a  true 
perception  of  the  opening  of  a  new  era  in 
the  history  of  the  world?  Ye  have  no  rea- 
son therefore  to  doubt  the  authenticity  and 
historical  accuracy  of  the  Scripture  narra- 
tive: for  even  as  in  the  uninspired  writing 
of  the  Hebrew  Race-group,  the  History  was 
detailed  in  obedience  to  the  spiritual  intent 
expressed  to  their  chosen  leaders  essentially 
and  in  perfect  truth,  through  an  imperfect 
(or  at  any  rate  apparent)  adjustment  to 
Chronology  and  Fact,  —  so  indeed  the  Ad- 
vent of  a  New  Revelation  was  truly  and 
accurately  expressed  both  in  matter  of 
Time,  Fact,  and  Locality,  though  to  the 
material  intellect  no  sure  trace  can  be  found 
in  the  Hebrew  of  history. 

[94] 


THE    SCRIPT 

"  Hence  you  perceive  that  Spiritual  par- 
able having  no  time  or  material  expression, 
cannot  tally  with  the  written  and  accepted 
facts  of  Time  and  Place.  They  who  found 
in  the  intuition  of  their  spirit  the  remote 
and  materially  presented  facts  of  the  spirit- 
ual changes,  strove  to  express  in  the 
language  of  their  nation  the  impressions 
which,  in  their  intuition,  they  felt  to  be 
spiritual  facts. 

"They  were  right:  and,  at  the  period  be- 
fore and  after  the  supposed  date  of  Anno 
Domini,  the  Embryo  Individual  Soul  re- 
ceived the  liberty  of  choice  independently 
of  the  Fatherhood  of  the  Race:  and,  as  the 
Christus  appeared  on  earth,  there,  in  the 
Home  of  our  Race,  in  the  centre  of  the 
known  world,  at  so  late  a  date  as  the  era 
accepted  in  the  tradition  of  the  Church,  the 
Christ  was  born;  not  sporadically,  but  as  a 
First-born,  a  First-fruit,  which,  emanating 
like  the  first  intuition  of  Man  in  smallest 
form,  —  the  Nucleus  of  a  single  individual, 
passed  first  through  the  medium  of  the 
head-branches  of  the  Parent  Race,  through 
all  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  known 
Earth. 

"  Those  nations  which  lay  beyond  the  in- 
[95] 


THE    HILL   OF   VISION 

fluence  of  these  groupings  but  partially  as- 
similated this  phenomenon;  and  to  this  day 
are  lacking  in  the  softer  influences  upon 
which  its  morals  were  based.  But  by 
spreading  over  all  the  world  and  physically 
absorbing  the  temperament  and  spirit  of 
the  true  Asiatic  races,  they  can  hope  to  grow 
in  true  grace ;  and  for  this  purpose  long  time 
must  intervene. 

"They  are  the  Philistines,  the  Sun-Wor- 
shippers, hard,  and  fierce,  and  bright, — 
and  mundane  and  unspiritual  as  compared 
with  the  more  spiritual  nature  of  the  mys- 
tic worshippers  of  the  Moon. 

"What  think  you  of  the  Birth  of  the 
Spirit,  and  its  growth  in  Man?  We  have 
already  told  you  that  the  emotions  and  in- 
tuitions only  are  handed  down  to  the  child 
from  its  parents.  With  the  inheritance  thus 
afforded  for  the  reception  of  the  parental 
knowledge,  no  increase  in  the  Spirit  was 
made  for  very  many  ages.  Man  was  gov- 
erned by  Instinct  handed  down  from  age  to 
age  through  the  medium  of  the  Spirit  of  the 
Race,  which,  partly  itself  the  resultant  of 
material  interactions,  was  yet  affected  by  the 
Spirit  of  the  Creator  and  became  to  a  great 
extent  receptive  of  His  impressions. 
[96] 


THE   SCRIPT 

"Thus  in  the  Spirit  of  the  Race  the  in- 
tuitions grew  and  developed  until,  in  that 
Chosen  Race,  Mans  emotions  became  fully 
incarnate,  and  all  unspiritual  though 
checked  and  controlled  by  the  medium  of 

his  Guides.  o   . 

"  But  not  yet  did  the  Embryo  Spirit  ot 
God,  the  Embryo  Son  of  the  Father  inhabit 
the  mansions  which  through  countless  ages 
were  in  course  of  preparation  for  His  maj- 
esty and  perfections.     So,  when  the  House 
was  made  in  the  likeness  and  Microcosm 
of  God,  and  furnished  by  His  Saints  and  in 
obedience  to  His  instructions  with  the  In- 
tuitions which  are  His  attributes:  and  after 
the  squaring  and  perfecting  of  the  whole, 
He  placed  there  a  Son  of  His  own  in  germ, 
a  Personality  of  His  own  Splendour  within 
this  receptacle,  — and  left  It  there,  a  Babe 
in   swaddling-clothes   and   for  Its   Minis- 
ters the  Intuitions  and  Emotions,  as  serv- 
ants to  His  Majesty.    And,  thus  equipped, 
He  reigned. 

"There,  in  that  House,  It  had  the  oppor- 
tunity of  growing  and  developing  to  God- 
head but  powerless  to  open  the  mansion- 
door'and  come  forth  unless  they  who  minis- 
tered to  It  were  willing  to  obey. 
[97l 


THE    HILL   OF   VISION 

"The  Freewill  lay  with  the  servants  and 
the  preventive  powers  which  material  gross- 
ness  oft  resents.  Through  the  influence  of 
the  servants,  the  Emotions,  the  very  walls 
of  the  House  may  minister  to  the  Royal 
Master,1  stone  calling  to  stone  and  beam  to 
beam,  until  in  perfect  harmony  the  Edifice 
becomes  part  and  parcel  of  the  Divine  In- 
habitant,—  becomes  gilded  and  glorified, 
and  transcends  itself  to  a  stage  of  spiritual 
glory;  and,  so  transformed,  becomes  no 
longer  Matter,  but  Spirit  expressed  in 
Matter. 

"  This  would  we  dimly  explain :  and  here 
in  Galilee  was  the  first  stone  instituted. 
With  the  Coming  of  the  Christus  comes  re- 
sponsibility for  His  growth,  and  the  power 
to  gain  that  response  truly;  but  again,  the 
Volitions,  —  the  Ministers  —  must  volun- 
tarily place  themselves  in  vibrational  sym- 
pathy with  the  Infant  growth.  It  is  not 
easy  to  explain;  we  can  only  appeal  to  your 
intuitions.  But  this  we  would  say  again :  — 
The  spiritual  Truth  of  the  Gospels  is  ab- 
solute and  in  perfect  harmony  with  the 
Spirit;  but  material  Intellect  may  strive  in 

1  The  script  has  "servant"  but  this  seems  certainly  a  slip. — 
F.B.B. 

[98] 


THE    SCRIPT 

vain  to   find   the  substantial  proofs  of   its 
manifestation  in  Matter. 

"Through  the  destruction  of  Matter, 
Spirit  is  oftentimes  refreshed  and  evolved; 
and  the  spirituality  of  the  East,  —  lost  in 
this  upheaval  of  the  antithesis  of  true 
Emotion  will  in  course  of  time  result  in  its 
resurrection  on  a  new  basis  of  Reason.  But 
not  until  the  cause  of  her  defection  is 
removed.1 

"  There  is  now  no  road  to  this  recovery 
save  in  the  destruction  of  those  who  are  in 
hostility  to  universal  Order.  Mercifully 
they  are  but  few,  —  though  powerful 
through  reason  of  the  ignorance  and  waver- 
ing nature  of  the  forces  they  control.  For 
the  same  reason,  the  recovery  will  be  swift 
and  sure —  But  the  influence  must  come 
from  without,  because  the  counter-influence 
is  acting  from  without.  Help  must  be 
given.  The  necessary  sacrifice  must  be 
made;  and  the  reward  will  be  great  in. 
very  truth. 

"  The  responsibility  is  also  great:  and  if, 
from  a  sense  of  '  laissez-faire,1  or  unwill- 
ingness to  risk  the  further  strain  which  such 
action    will    involve,   the    nations     of    the 

1  The  passions  stirred  by  the  war? 
[99] 


THE    HILL   OF   VISION 

Earth  refrain  from  intervening,  —  the  en- 
emy, the  representative  of  Force,  the  Ex- 
emplar of  War,  would  turn  all  to  his  own 
advantage. 

"  Thus  the  chaos  and  welter  of  this  great 
nation1  can  be  converted  either  to  a  mighty 
power  of  spiritual  Good,  or  else  can  be 
seduced  and  degraded  to  be  the  Mallet  in 
the  Hands  of  Thor  for  the  destruction  of 
all  things." 

On  the  Segregation  of  the  Chosen 
Race 

Allusion  has  already  been  made  to  a 
script  received  on  the  13th  March,  1918. 
This  script  seems  to  merit  some  further  con- 
sideration, and  this  will  now  be  given.  It 
has  been  deferred  to  this  point,  not  only 
because  of  the  special  nature  of  the  matter 
contained,  but  also  for  the  reason  that  it 
must  be  taken  in  conjunction  with  a  further 
writing  received  on  the  12th  July,  and  only 
lately  deciphered  owing  to  its  cramped 
and  difficult  nature.  There  is  a  percep- 
tible variation  in  the  handwriting  of  some 
of  the  scripts,  and  it  was  observed  in  the 

1  Russia  ? 
[  IOO] 


THE   SCRIPT 

case  of  the  Glastonbury  writings  that  the 
caligraphy  sometimes  altered  with  the  sub- 
ject-matter of  the  script.  It  may  however 
be  only  a  coincidence  that  the  two  scripts 
of  19 1 8  which  deal  most  prominently  with 
the  subject  of  the  Chosen  Race  appointed 
to  reign  and  rule  in  the  New  Era,  are  both 
of  a  character  exceptionally  difficult  to  de- 
cipher. The  writer  has  taken  great  pains 
to  accomplish  this  task,  but  even  now  not 
with  entire  success.  Still,  patience  and  per- 
severance have  to  some  extent  been  re- 
warded and  the  general  sense  has  been  made 
clear. 

Script  of  March  13 

The  Spiritual  Israel  is  now  to  be  gathered 
and  concentrated  for  further  advance  of 
the  great  plan  of  the  Creator  for  the  rais- 
ing of  Humanity  to  a  more  spiritual  con- 
dition, bringing  about  the  Kingdom  of  God 
upon  Earth.  The  New  Race  is  by  ancestry 
linked  on  to  the  Israel  of  old,  since  the 
Tribes  of  the  original  number  have  spread 
over  the  earth  and  intermingled  with  the 
outer  nations.  Even  nations  of  absolutely 
alien  blood  thus  contain  those  who  may  be 
qualified  to  be  heirs  of  the  Promise.  The 
[101] 


THE   HILL   OF   VISION 

nations  who  trace  their  ancestry  to  the  scat- 
tered tribes  of  the  Israel  of  old-time  are 
now  to  be  found  in  the  East  and  in  the  West. 
These  nations  therefore  have  had  their  share 
in  the  evangelizing  of  the  peoples  of  the 
world.  But  some  are  as  yet  unregener- 
ate  and  do  not  recognize  their  origin  or 
mission. 

Our  blood  is  of  the  Chosen  Race,  but 
there  are  many  others,  including  nations 
overseas.  Some  have  not  borne  their  part 
in  the  recent  conflict  and  these  must  un- 
dergo purgation. 

Script  of  July  12 
Paraphrase  of  Script 

With  Explanatory  Additions 

It  is  stated  in  a  script  of  June  1st  that  there 
are  certain  forces  of  an  invisible  nature 
affecting  Matter,  which  are,  as  it  were,  the 
envelope  of  the  Divine  Will  and  Intention 
controlling  Nature. 

Important  among  these  is  the  effect  of 
the  Sun's  magnetism  in  inducing  a  west- 
ward flow  of  all  animate  things.  The  Sun's 
passage  over  the  Earth  is  compared  to  the 
winding  of  a  vast  magnetic  coil. 
[  102] 


THE    SCRIPT 

The  superficial  atoms  on  our  globe  are 
polarized  in  a  westward  flow,  and  certain 
spots  on  the  face  of  the  globe  are  developed. 
These  "  act  as  nodes  or  centres  of  force,  and 
can  influence  both  materially  and  spiritu- 
ally the  peoples  that  inhabit  them."  Look- 
ing back  to  a  script  dated  April  26,  a  simi- 
lar description  appears.  "This  world  is 
co-ordinated  by  Lines  and  Ganglia  of  spirit- 
ual force,  —  ocean-currents  in  the  world  of 
the  Spiritual,  —  moving  ever  under  spirit- 
ual influence  through  the  impalpable  aether 
and  sucking  in  through  their  vortices  the 
mobile  specks  or  motes  or  atoms,  each  of 
which  represents  that  complexity,  Man. 

"Man,  in  his  complex  nature,  is  moved 
by  many  influences  of  a  material  nature  and 
he  is  generally  only  conscious  of  these  in 
his  impulses  to  travel  and  tribal  exodus. 
He  does  not  realize  that  behind  these  mate- 
rial motive  forces  lie  the  forms  and  schemes 
of  spiritual  development,  instruments  of  a 
greater  Impulse  beyond  his  ken." 

Even  earlier,  in  a  writing  on  the  21st 
April,  we  are  told  that  in  the  case  of  such 
localities  as  Athens,  Rome,  Jerusalem  (and 
Glastonbury  also  is  named),  it  is  not  simply 
the  genius  of  a  people  that  makes  for  the 
[103] 


THE    HILL   OF   VISION 

power  and  influence  wielded  by  these 
names  and  sites.  Rather  was  it  that  the  geo- 
graphical and  natural  conditions  were  in 
harmony  with  those  special  conditions  of 
genius  "which  each  particular  race  personi- 
fied in  Man."  Each  unit  of  a  race  is  a  Mi- 
crocosm of  the  whole.  Hence  the  impor- 
tance of  grouping  a  nation  in  units,  classes, 
and  masses;  for  the  characteristics  of  indi- 
viduals are  "magnified,  reduplicated,  and 
rendered  a  millionfold  more  powerful  by 
association."  The  reader  may  at  this  point 
turn  to  the  script  of  July  10,  in  which  the 
strange  assertion  is  made  that  the  Race- 
Spirit  resides  more  in  the  soil  than  in  the 
individuals  who  inhabit  the  district  (see 
transcript). 

In  another  script  of  the  same  date,  as  yet 
only  partially  transcribed  and  therefore 
not  included  in  this  series,  there  occurs  a 
passage  which  it  may  be  permissible  to 
quote  here,  as  it  concerns  the  question  of 
individual  versus  racial  freewill,  and  is  a 
curiosity  in  its  way: — "There  is  no  doubt" 
it  says  "  but  that  the  Creator  is  strongly  con- 
scious of  the  resistance  of  Matter,  and  that 
as  Matter  intensifies  in  vibration,  so  the 
Christ-consciousness  advances.  Thus  He 
[104] 


THE    SCRIPT 

decides  the  question  of  the  Freewill  of 
Man,  and  it  is  difficult  to  express.  The 
true  explanation  of  this  problem  is  often  a 
matter  of  the  will  of  the  Creator,  who  de- 
sires independent  individuality  rather  in 
the  Race  than  in  the  personal  emphasis  of 
her  tyrants."  Attention  is  invited  to  the 
last  significant  statement.  How  it  accords 
with  the  most  recent  phases  of  philosophic 
thought  I  am  in  no  position  to  judge,  as  I 
have  not  read  any  modern  works  on  the  sub- 
ject. We  now  turn  to  the  script  of  July 
12,  and  this  I  would  like  to  put  in  other 
words  suggestive  of  my  own  impressions  of 
its  meaning.  We  are  to  understand  that 
geographical  boundaries  (where  not  arbi- 
trarily fixed)  are  dependent  on  conditions 
inherent  in  the  racial  lie,  the  Race-spirit 
being  confined  as  a  rule  to  those  special 
areas  in  the  magnetic  field  of  the  earth  with 
which  the  particular  race  with  which  that 
Spirit  is  associated  have  been  for  a  long 
time  involved.  The  magnetic  life-current 
induced  by  the  Solar  action  feeds  the  Life 
of  the  Race  with  its  own  energy  as  special- 
ized in  each  place  that  is  the  Metropolis 
of  the  racial  life.  The  magnetic  or  elec- 
tric current  is  the  vehicle  of  this  nutrient 
[105] 


THE    HILL   OF   VISION 

energy  which  has  a  spiritual  source  and  is 
creative  of  life  in  the  general  sense.  But 
this  is  only  one  of  two  modes  of  spiritual 
Involution,  and  it  is  the  more  external 
mode.  It  cannot  create  Being,  in  the  sense 
of  Soul,  or  individual  Entity.  It  is  the 
"  prototypal"  form  of  spiritual  descent 
into  Matter.  But  it  assists  in  the  process 
of  collecting,  separating,  and  focussing  the 
life  of  a  race  around  one  or  other  of  these 
centres  or  nodes. 

Once  in  the  history  of  the  world,  a  whole 
people,  grouped  about  such  a  centre,  de- 
veloped a  racial  individuality,  a  racial  will 
and  something  like  a  common  conscious- 
ness associated  with  a  recognition  of  God 
as  a  Father  in  a  spiritual  sense  of  the  Race. 
The  clannish  feeling  of  blood-relationship 
helped  to  separate  this  people  from  the 
outer  world  of  men,  and  this  process  was 
assisted  by  the  teachings  derived  from  cer- 
tain advanced  thinkers  among  them,  who 
acted  as  foster-fathers  of  the  new  conscious- 
ness which  was  destined  to  be  born  in  each 
member  of  the  clan.  This  new  conscious- 
ness brought  at  last  the  realization  of  moral 
responsibility  and  the  liberty  of  self-deter- 
mination to  each  one.  Its  full  accomplish- 
[106] 


THE   SCRIPT 

ment  in  the  individual  is  described  as  the 
Birth  of  the  Christ  in  each.  The  responsi- 
bility of  the  new  personal  consciousness 
varies  according  to  the  environment  of  the 
individual. 

Had  this  Race  never  been  scattered,  they 
could  not  have  developed  all  varieties  of 
spiritual  achievement,  nor  could  they  have 
impregnated  the  whole  human  race  outside 
with  the  germ  of  the  new  principle  now 
born  in  them.  But  this  they  were  destined 
to  do,  and  thus,  according  to  the  scheme  of 
the  Creator,  they  were  dispersed  through- 
out the  globe,  to  leaven  the  masses  of  men, 
and  to  spread  the  seeds  of  the  Christ-con- 
sciousness throughout  the  earth.  Such  is 
the  spiritual  purpose  underlying  the  segre- 
gation of  Israel,  and  the  Bible  presents  us 
with  the  record  in  fact,  and  parable  har- 
monized with  fact  and  accordant  with  it. 
So  the  new  Spiritual  Consciousness  in  Man, 
commencing  as  a  tiny  germ,  as  a  grain  of 
mustard-seed,  in  his  heart  or  true  emotional 
nature,  is  eventually  brought  to  birth  as  an 
infant  consciousness,  and  this  is  symbolized 
as  the  Babe  in  the  Manger.  "Do  you 
doubt,"  says  the  script,  "that  the  Vision  of 
the  Shepherds  was  indeed  a  true  perception 
[107] 


THE   HILL   OF   VISION 

of  the  opening  of  a  new  era  in  the  History 
of  the  World?"1 

The  writing  clearly  indicates  that  the 
Israel  of  old  was  instructed  by  Divinely 
appointed  Teachers  and  Guides.  These, 
we  may  be  sure,  were  of  a  high  order  of  ad- 
vanced Humanity;  individuals  in  whom  the 
spiritual  consciousness  was  fully  developed. 
They  had  liberty  of  choice  and  could  obey 
or  disobey.  Here  and  there,  they  may  have 
been  unfaithful  to  their  trust:  but  under 
their  tuition  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  Race 
evolved  the  Idea  and  Worship  of  the  One 
God,  the  Father  of  the  race,  and  was  conse- 
quently able  to  create  from  among  the  Sons 
of  Men  a  group  capable  of  receiving  the 
Sonship  of  the  Spirit. 

Two  points  arise  in  connection  with  this 
brief  survey  of  the  allusions  in  these  scripts 
to  the  segregation  and  ultimate  manifesta- 
tion of  a  Chosen  People. 

(i)  As  to  the  idea  of  the  segregation  of 
a  Race  and  the  differentiation  of  its  charac- 
ter and  religious  intuitions  under  special 
natural  conditions  and  subject  to  the  guid- 
ance of  great  Teachers,  may  we  not  find  in 

1  "  Glory  to  God  in  the  Highest,  and  on  Earth  Peace  to  men 
of  goodwill." 

[108] 


THE   SCRIPT 

the  familiar  facts  of  human  association 
many  analogies  of  this  phenomenon?  For 
example:  a  site  is  selected  for  a  public 
school,  and  a  Head  Master  is  found  who,  in 
the  course  of  a  few  years,  succeeds  in  im- 
pressing upon  the  establishment  a  mark  of 
individuality,  even  of  personality  not  en- 
tirely his  own,  inculcating  a  strong  sense  of 
esprit  de  corps,  which  tends,  after  his  time, 
to  increase  rather  than  diminish. 

The  very  buildings,  as  it  were,  become 
impregnated  with  this  influence,  and  insen- 
sibly modify  the  character  of  succeeding 
generations  of  students. 

(2)  In  the  quest  for  light  upon  the  ob- 
scure problem  of  the  present  location  of 
the  scattered  tribes  of  Israel,  may  it  not  be 
possible  that,  forsaking  the  beaten  tracks  of 
ethnology,  in  this  case  a  somewhat  barren 
line  of  research,  our  enquiries  might  profit- 
ably be  directed  towards  an  analysis  of  the 
varying  religious  and  social  ideals  prevail- 
ing in  the  several  racial  areas  which  have 
received  a  distinctive  and  characteristic  im- 
pression through  the  preaching  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  a  comparison  instituted  between 
these  severally  and  the  prophetic  characters 
of  the  Twelve  Tribes  as  given  in  Genesis. 
[109] 


THE   HILL   OF   VISION 

Beyond  the  borders  of  the  original 
Semite  racial  grouping  there  dwelt  those 
fierce  and  warlike  peoples  whose  undevel- 
oped nature  only  partially  assimilated  the 
"  softer  influences "  upon  which  the  new 
evolution  of  the  spiritual  man  was  based. 
Philistines,  Hittites,  Assyrians,  we  may 
think,  among  many  others  further  removed 
yet  in  a  geographical  sense,  were  among 
these.  How  are  we  to  distinguish  their 
modern  counterparts  or  representatives. 
The  script  gives  us  a  clue,  in  the  nature  of 
the  religious  symbolism  they  respectively 
employed.  Israel  has  a  typically  Lunar 
system  of  symbol  in  connection  with  her 
religious  ideals,  expressed  in  her  priestly 
Times  and  Seasons,  her  Temple  furniture, 
and  in  many  other  ways.  In  antithesis  to 
this,  we  must  look  for  evidences  of  Sun- 
worship  and  Solar  symbolism  among  the 
"outer  peoples."  Hard  they  are,  and 
bright  and  fierce  and  mundane,  —  unspirit- 
ual  as  compared  with  the  Chosen  Race. 
Their  God  is  Baal,  or  his  later  representa- 
tives. Readers  may  follow  out  this  line  of 
enquiry  for  themselves.  Let  us  call  to 
mind  that  which  is  known  of  the  primitive 
worship  of  the  original  peoples  of  Europe 
[no] 


THE   SCRIPT 

and  the  nearer  East,  and  in  the  light  of  these 
traces,  let  us  examine  the  character  of  their 
modern  representatives  as  modified  by 
Christianity,  together  with  the  type  of 
Christian  worship  and  ideal  they  have 
evolved. 

But  we  can  be  under  no  misapprehen- 
sion as  to  the  intention  of  the  script  when  it 
speaks  of  those  nations  who  "  to  this  day 
are  lacking  in  the  softer  influence"  afore- 
said, since  the  context  gives  the  clue.  They 
are  to  grow  in  true  grace  "by  spreading 
over  all  the  world  and  physically  absorb- 
ing the  temperament  and  spirit  of  the  true 
Asiatic  races." 

The  use  of  the  word  "true"  in  this  con- 
nection, if  we  rightly  read  the  script,  im- 
plies that  the  modern  Philistines  are  not 
really  Asiatic  but  of  European  stock,  suffi- 
ciently nearly  related  in  locale  to  be  liable 
to  be  so  regarded.  The  description  would 
therefore  apply  well  enough  to  the  Otto- 
man, Bulgar,  and  Baltic  Slav,  and  in  this 
category  we  might  perhaps  include  the 
Prussian  or  Brandenburger,  the  original 
Wendish  and  Lettish  tribes  which  so 
long  and  so  stoutly  resisted  all  efforts  at 
evangelization. 

[in] 


THE    HILL   OF   VISION 

Script  No.  12,  August  21,  19 18 

Obtained  at  Sydenham  Hill,  Bristol,  4  p.  m.  Previ- 
ous conversation  had  been  entirely  on  archaeological 
matters  and  the  War  had  not  been  mentioned.  J.  A. 
held  the  pen,  and  F.B.B.  read  aloud  continuously  from 
an  article  he  had  written  on  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews. 

"When  we  said  that  August  the  twenty- 
fourth  (sic)  would  see  the  end  of  the  enemy 
offensive,  we  spoke  with  a  distinct  con- 
sciousness of  the  spiritual  intention;  only 
the  tendency  in  the  mass  of  Matter  to  retain 
those  impressions  which  are  conveyed  to  it 
by  its  medium,  follows  the  universal  law  of 
continued  vibration  for  some  period  after 
the  cessation  of  the  impulse  of  the  rising. 
Bear  this  in  mind,  and  make  no  mistake 
on  this  score :  a  whole  year  may  pass  away 
before  these  impulses,  absorbed  by  Matter 
and  conveyed  by  its  instrumentality  into 
your  plane,  —  to  be  there  expressed,  pass 
away  into  the  silence  of  its  interspaces. 

"  Buthere  we  assert  and  reassert:  the  great 
force  of  the  impulse  has  already  expended 
itself  and  will  never  again  be  resumed. 

"We  have  quoted  the  twenty-fourth,  be- 
cause on  this  date,  —  or  rather,  a  period 
immediately  following  it,  —  that  is  to  say, 
[112] 


THE   SCRIPT 

during  the  sixty-six  or  sixty-eight  hours 
immediately  succeeding  to  it,  you,  if  you 
perceive  aright  the  symptoms  which  should 
be  evident  to  you,  cannot  fail  to  perceive 
that  which  must  inevitably  ensue,  and  from 
which  you  will  realize  indubitably  that  the 
spiritual  tide  of  this  great  offensive  has 
turned  finally  and  irrevocably. 

"  The  tide  once  ebbing  will  flow  no  more, 
but  the  waves,  though  in  their  intermittent 
vehemence  they  may  rise  to  the  high-water 
mark,  or  surpass  it  for  a  moment,  will  yet 
be  but  instantaneous,  or  rather  momentary 
impulses  of  a  despairing  foe:  and  the  true 
tide  irrevocably  sinking,  ebbing  ever  lower 
and  lower,  will  at  length,  in  a  period  of 
time  (the  period  of  which  is  the  indication 
of  the  momentum  and  ponderosity  of  Mat- 
ter in  concert  with  the  freewill  of  Man), 
subside  into  the  great  calm  which  has  no 
wave,  no  further  rise  nor  ebb. 

"  Heaven  forfend  lest  this  in  turn  yield 
to  stagnation  and  useless)  inertia!' — lest 
again  the  striving  of  the  Spirit  beat  upon  it 
and  lash  it  into  fresh  fury!  Watch,  we  say 
again,  watch!  with  the  eye  of  the  Spirit, 
and  you  shall  infallibly  see  and  understand 
that  we  who  have  spoken  in  response  to  your 
[113] 


THE   HILL   OF   VISION 

faith,  do  not  speak  without  knowledge  and 
authority. 

"More  we  cannot  say,  —  more  we  may 
not  say,  —  and  in  very  truth,  more  would 
be  not  only  superabundant,  but  unseemly 
and  calculated  to  defeat  the  ends  of  Spirit. 
For  indeed  they  who  are  materially-minded 
might  turn  it  to  base  uses. 

"  Coloured  with  your  hopes  and  tinctured 
with  your  individuality,  —  as  coloured 
glasses  colour  the  pure  beams  of  light 
which  penetrate  them,  —  yet  freed  by  Rea- 
son from  this  colouring,  you  shall  see  the 
pure  and  true  residuum  in  you  of  absolute 
truth  which  is  in  that  which  you  may  ask 
and  we  are  able  to  convey  to  your  material 
conception. 

"We  in  very  truth  speak  as  spirit  to 
spirit,  and  only  in  so  far  as  your  spirit  is 
attuned  to  an  unselfish  desire  for  knowledge 
to  be  applied  to  good  ends.  And  even  thus, 
we  penetrating  in,  it  is  carried  of  yourselves 
by  channels  which,  though  tried  and  beaten 
paths  to  us,  are  yet  unknown,  or  at  least 
unappreciated  by  the  limitations  of  your 
human  consciousness.  We,  by  these  tried 
though  unknown  paths,  can  only  convey  to 
you  that  germ  of  the  subliminal  knowledge 
[11+] 


THE   SCRIPT 

from  which  in  God's  good  time  the  great 
Tree  of  Comprehension  shall  arise,  piercing 
the  empyrean  with  its  myriad  branches,  and 
absorbing  in  every  pore  that  consciousness 
of  spiritual  Immanence  which  shall  in 
course  of  time  culminate  in  EXISTENCE  IN 
TWO  SPHERES,  —  even  as  the  tree  upon  which 
we  hang  the  allegory  exists  by  virtue  of  its 
green  and  sun-kissed  raiment  in  contrast 
with  its  dark  and  devious  roots  hidden 
beneath  the  dark  soil  of  Matter. 

"There  is  no  need  for  more  at  the  mo- 
ment: but  as  you  are  doubtful  and  anxious, 
we  do  say  this  .  .  .  watch,  trust,  and  be- 
lieve! In  a  few  days  now  ye  shall  know 
and  understand." 

"  We  who  are  known  to  you  in  the  councils  of 
the  Watchers  in  the  Radiant  Sphere  of  Liberated 
Human  Memory  and  Spirit  thus  write  in  the 
responsive  vibrations  of  your  own  awakened 
Spirit." 


[ii5] 


POSTSCRIPT 

Apart  from  the  predictions  both  of  war 
and  of  the  ending  of  war,  with  their  ex- 
traordinary verification  in  fact,  these  auto- 
matic writings  are  sufficiently  remarkable 
from  other  points  of  view.  The  analysis  of 
German  character  and  its  later  development 
under  stress  of  an  inclusive  materialism  is 
exact  even  if  it  contains  nothing  particularly 
novel.  This  process  was  clear  to  many  be- 
fore the  war;  it  is  now  obvious  to  all.  The 
statements  definitely  made  and  constantly 
reiterated  that  there  is  much  in  the  Teuton 
races  that  is  not  only  of  essential  value  to 
the  world,  but  indispensable,  and  that  the 
purgation  of  war  will  release  this  potency 
from  its  hitherto  inhibiting  bondage,  mak- 
ing it  operative  and  even  bringing  it  into 
alliance  with  the  civilized  peoples  of  the 
West  for  the  last  fight  against  an  evil 
greater  even  than  the  war,  is  one  that  at 
the  present  juncture  will  hardly  be  well  re- 
ceived even  though  it  has  the  sound  reason 
of  dispassionate  men  behind  it.  The  fore- 
[116] 


POSTSCRIPT 

cast  of  social  disruption  sequent  on  the  war 
is  now  being  substantiated  by  events,  and 
one  would  wish  (admitting  the  credibility 
of  the  mysterious  witnesses)  that  the  ques- 
tion of  the  solution  of  this  new  menace 
were  left  less  open  as  regards  the  point  of 
time.  The  insistence  of  the  communicating 
agencies  on  the  fundamental  fact  of  free 
will,  not  only  in  man  but  in  the  whole 
process  of  life,  and  the  definition  of  time 
as  only  "the  ratio  of  the  resistance  of  Mat- 
ter to  the  interpenetration  of  the  Spirit," 
must  be  accepted  whatever  one's  philo- 
sophical standpoint;  and  this  being  so  it 
is  clear  that  no  approximation  of  dates  is 
at  present  possible,  the  matter  rests  in  our 
hands,  that  is  all. 

Throughout  the  communications  are 
many  references  to  some  "Race"  with 
many  ramifications,  that  is  destined  to  be 
the  next  ethnic  group  in  whose  hands  is 
placed  the  working  out  of  the  next  epoch 
of  civilization.  It  is  unfortunate  that  the 
very  words  and  phrases  which  specify  this 
race  are  absolutely  illegible,  and  for  the 
present  the  question  must  remain  unan- 
swered. In  any  case  the  testimony  is  against 
anything  approaching  "Internationalism" 
[117] 


THE   HILL   OF   VISION 

and  in  favour  of  definite  and  specific  na- 
tionalism as  a  prime  necessity  for  the  de- 
velopment of  personal  as  well  as  social 
character.  The  tendency  today  to  extend 
that  "  democracy  "  which  has  wrecked  mod- 
ern government  and  society  by  postulating 
an  equality  that  does  not  exist  and  denying 
every  element  of 'selection  and  choice,  to 
races  as  well  as  to  individuals,  putting  all 
on  the  same  plane  of  social  value  and  po- 
tential, is  one  of  the  greatest  dangers  of  the 
time.  It  is  good  to  get  a  little  sound  sense 
along  this  line  even  if  we  are  forced  by  its 
absence  elsewhere  to  find  it  in  the  automatic 
writings  of  unknown,  and  probably  un- 
knowable, personalities. 

Not  that  they  are  averse  to  democracy, 
but  they  apparently  draw  the  same  line 
between  "  democracy  of  ideal  and  de- 
mocracy of  method,"  indicated  in  "The 
Nemesis  of  Mediocrity"  which  was  being 
written  just  when  these  writings  of  F.B.B. 
and  J.  A.  were  being  obtained,  though  this 
book  was  published  some  months  before 
the  writings  themselves  reached  America. 
"The  Watchers"  warn  both  against  that 
social  and  intellectual  severance  that  cuts 
humanity  in  two,  with  a  small  class  of  the 
[n8] 


POSTSCRIPT 

elect  on  the  one  hand  and  a  vast  proletarian 
mass  on  the  other,  and  also  against  "  that 
so-called  democracy  which  is  sovereignty 
reversed."  "Fear  not  Democracy"  they 
say,  "  if  properly  led  and  instructed,"  which 
is  of  course  exactly  the  point;  for,  except 
for  brief  periods,  it  never  has  been  either 
properly  led  or  instructed,  nor  does  it  desire 
the  one  or  the  other.  Improperly  led,  "  the 
utter  ignorance  of  the  multitude  unchecked 
by  any  nobleness  of  instruction  rose  like  a 
flame  and  swept  the  brilliant  groups  away," 
whenever  in  the  past  "  the  jealousy  of  the 
possession  of  knowledge  drove  men  to  keep 
it  in  secret  cults  and  in  the  bodies  of  so- 
cieties," and  so  it  is  now  and  forever  will 
be,  unless  man  can  achieve  the  true  De- 
mocracy. Where  the  false  is  "  that  com- 
mon law  of  the  lowest  instincts  of  jealousy, 
envy  and  cupidity,"  the  true  is  "grounded 
and  founded  on  brotherhood  and  love  of 
God  and  man ;  love  which  penetrates 
through  every  pore  not  only  of  humanity 
but  of  the  whole  of  Creation  —  God's  Body 
manifest;  not  with  equality  of  the  sons  of 
God  —  cells  in  His  Divine  Body,  but  un- 
equal in  the  way  of  purpose."  This  is 
neither  Bolshevism  (rather  it  is  its  an- 
[119] 


THE    HILL   OF   VISION 

tithesis)  nor  is  it  democracy  as  this  is  now 
understood,  but  it  is  a  very  sane  thing  and 
is  best  expressed  "in  that  higher  system  of 
which  Kingship  and  its  accompanying  sys- 
tem of  government  is  the  nearly  perfect 
symbol." 

The  constant  assertions  of  a  readjustment, 
even  a  cataclysmic  revolution,  whereby  the 
West  is  bound  to  fall  and  the  East  "  come 
into  its  own,"  appearing  as  they  do  in  the 
war  prophecy  of  191 1  and  continuing  down 
to  the  script  of  June,  191 8,  are  to  be  taken, 
it  would  seem,  in  a  sense  other  than  that  of 
political,  racial  or  social  supremacy.  The 
doctrine  that  is  enunciated  is  that  man  being 
compounded  of  matter  and  spirit,  there  are 
two  driving  forces  in  the  process  of  material 
redemption,  intellect  and  intuition,  the  first 
being  of  the  West  and  liable  to  degenera- 
tion into  sheer  materialism,  the  other  of  the 
East  and  subject  to  no  such  danger,  but 
liable  to  isolation  and  abandonment  when- 
ever the  first  balance  is  lost.  The  West  has 
abandoned  itself,  through  the  prostitution 
of  intellect,  to  materialism,  and  only  through 
the  war  could  its  false  standards  be  broken 
down,  its  evil  motives  be  purged  away,  and 
the  gate  opened  for  the  re-entrance  of  that 
[120] 


POSTSCRIPT 

vitalizing  spirituality  that  is  of  the  East  and 
is  of  the  soul  of  the  East.  The  restoration 
of  this  balance  through  the  new  coming  of 
this  Eastern  spirituality  is  clearly  predicted 
as  the  result  of  the  war  and  as  its  very  reason 
for  being,  and  by  this  the  readjustment  is 
to  be  effected  that  will  make  possible  the 
"Great  Days  of  Christ"  wherein  a  new 
civilization  will  be  born — a  civilization  that 
is  given  promise  of  indefinite  continuance; 
since  this  is  the  last  time  that  matter  will 
triumph  even  temporarily  over  intellect  and 
spirit.  The  curious  parallel  between  this 
diagnosis  and  Professor  Ferrero's  theory  of 
the  quantitative  and  qualitative  standards, 
Lisle  March  Phillipps'  analysis  of  the  re- 
spective contributions  of  the  East  and  the 
West  to  the  social  synthesis  in  "  Form  and 
Colour,"  and  M.  Bergson's  exposition  of  the 
difference  and  the  relations  between  intel- 
lect and  intuition  in  his  "  Creative  Evolu- 
tion," will  not  escape  the  reader. 

To  me  the  most  interesting  point  is  the 
correspondence  between  the  philosophical 
elements  that  show  themselves  through  the 
"War  Script  of  1918"  and  the  general 
system  of  philosophy  that  was  finally  per- 
fected in  the  Middle  Ages  along  the  three 
[121] 


THE    HILL    OF   VISION 

lines  of  St.  Thomas  as  representing  Domin- 
ican, Duns  Scotus  Franciscan,  and  Hugh 
of  St.  Victor  Augustinian  philosophy.  Per- 
haps it  would  be  safer  to  say  that  the  sug- 
gestion is  rather  of  the  sources  from  which 
Mediaeval  philosophy  derived  —  Plotinus, 
Philo,  Origen,  or  even  the  earlier  schools 
of  the  Peripatetics  and  the  Pythagoreans. 
The  doctrine  of  the  "  Martyrdom  of  Mat- 
ter" through  the  process  of  redemption  by 
the  interpenetration  of  Spirit  is  particularly 
striking.  A  similar  doctrine  is  the  common 
possession  of  all  great  philosophical  sys- 
tems, whatever  their  date  and  source,  and 
the  assured  discoveries  of  modern  science 
seem  to  force  a  return  to  this  primal  idea. 
The  scholastic  postulate  of  the  rationes 
seminales  in  opposition  to  the  earlier  doc- 
trine that  matter  in  itself  was  nothingness, 
void  of  inherent  potentiality  but  subject  to 
transformation  by  the  operation  of  Spirit 
penetrating  it  from  without,  seems  now  to 
have  opened  the  door  to  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury conception  of  blind  evolution;  a  posi- 
tion no  longer  tenable.  According  to  Plo- 
tinus "  Matter  is  merely  the  space  which 
conditions  all  corporeal  existence;  it  is  a 
pure  possibility  of  being,  mere  nothingness, 
[122] 


POSTSCRIPT 

and  it  is  identified  with  primitive  evil," 
while  Philo  said  the  same  in  declaring  the 
visible  world  to  be  not  so  much  the  result 
of  emanation  as  of  the  application  of  Divine 
power  to  matter  pre-existing  in  a  chaotic 
state.  Matter  in  this  sense  is  undoubtedly 
Duns  Scotus'  "Materia  primo  prima," 
chaos  "without  form  and  void,"  the  first 
reaction  of  the  operation  of  Spirit  being  the 
sensible  form.  From  this  point  the  process 
of  spiritual  interpenetration  is  constant, 
though  probably  rhythmical ;  and  in  the  end 
Matter,  which,  as  Albertus  Magnus  taught, 
is  not  eternal,  is  transformed,  redeemed, 
transubstantiated,  and  is  no  longer  Matter 
but  Spirit.  Redemption  is  therefore  not 
only  the  ultimate  destiny  of  man  but  of  the 
entire  universe  of  which  matter  is  the  mode. 
Startling  and  even  sensational  as  are  the 
War  Predictions,  I  am  inclined  to  think 
that,  in  spite  of  the  lacunae,  the  occasional 
apparent  inconsistencies,  the  downward 
trend  towards  something  approximating 
sentimentalism  now  and  then,  the  "War 
Script  of  1918"  finds  its  chief  value  in  its 
philosophical  possibilities.  At  all  events 
it  is  a  welcome  prophylactic  to  the  many 
post-Mediaeval  philosophies,  from  Des- 
[123] 


THE    HILL   OF   VISION 

cartes  through  Hobbes  and  Kant  to  Posi- 
tivism and  Pragmatism.  The  world  gained 
nothing  when  it  abandoned  the  sacramental 
philosophy  of  Scholasticism  (heir  as  it  was 
of  all  the  philosophies  of  the  past  from  Neo- 
Platonism  to  the  Pre-Platonists)  for  the 
intellectualist-materialist  systems  of  mod- 
ernism. The  world-before-the-war,  and 
the  war  itself,  and  the  present  chaos  of 
after-the-war,  were  the  inevitable  result. 
The  future,  if  it  is  to  be  worth  having,  will 
be  built  on  other  foundations. 


[124] 


NOTES 
Note  on  the  Script  of  June  i 

There  has  been  an  opening  of  the  vials  of  spiritual 
force  of  a  new  kind  over  all  the  civilized  world.  The 
result  of  this  outbreak  of  spiritual  energies  of  an  un- 
accustomed kind  has  been  in  the  first  instance  to  create 
unexampled  confusion. 

The  effect  is  seen  in  revolutionary  movements,  whose 
inwardness  cannot  be  appreciated  from  a  merely  exter- 
nal or  temporal  survey. 

Germany  is  depicted  as  possessing  a  very  perfectly 
organized  Race-consciousness  immensely  strong  in  a  ma- 
terial sense  owing  to  its  coherent  structure,  but  in  a 
state  of  spiritual  coma.  And  its  spiritual  forces  have 
been  absorbed  into  intellectual  activities  of  a  corrupt 
order,  expressing  themselves  in  a  national  will  to  cap- 
ture and  dominate  the  two  worlds  of  Mind  and  Mat- 
ter, decreeing  the  sovereignty  of  German  Kultur  and 
the  German  Empire. 

The  true  evolutionary  task  of  Germany  is  the  ma- 
nipulation and  conquest  of  all  the  forces  of  Matter. 
This  is  her  gift,  and  its  rightful  exercise  is  necessary 
to  the  fulfilment  of  the  great  Intention  of  the  scheme 
of  Man's  development.  But  at  present  the  intention 
is  perverted  owing  to  the  fissure  in  Germany's  soul, 
which  has  severed  her  spiritual  part  from  her  material 
self,  and  her  intelligence  has  allied  itself  exclusively 
with  the  latter.    Her  apostate  Spirit  wanders  eastward 

[125] 


THE    HILL   OF   VISION 

in  vague  dreams  whilst  her  bodily  part  presses  west- 
ward in  frantic  efforts  at  material  dominion.  But  for 
this  severance,  she  must  infallibly  have  achieved  her 
ambitions. 

But  her  failure  in  a  material  sense  will  so  weaken 
the  degraded  elements  of  her  nature,  that  her  better 
part  will  ultimately  have  strength  to  assert  once  more 
its  dominion  over  the  whole  body-politic,  and  this  will 
be  brought  about  by  her  spiritual  sufferings  in  the  East, 
where  she  will  amalgamate  with  herself  all  the  "  fallow 
and  uncontrolled  spirituality  of  the  Eastern  races." 

So  much  for  Germany's  characteristic  perversion  of 
the  forces  of  the  Spirit  to  material  ends.  For  ourselves, 
we  have  to  be  on  our  guard  against  a  yet  more  subtle 
danger,  which,  if  allowed  to  continue,  would  paralyse 
spiritual  energies  and  put  an  end  to  further  progress  or 
achievement  on  the  part  of  Man,  by  producing  a  static 
condition  of  premature  balance  between  Spirit  and 
Matter,  between  the  forces  of  Good  and  Evil. 

This  dangerous  tendency  is  one  which  does  not  ex- 
press itself  in  material  action,  but  works,  generally  in 
a  covert  manner,  for  compromise  of  conflicting  forces, 
compromise  due  to  a  confused  conception  of  spiritual 
aims  derived  from  a  type  of  thought  which  though  in 
essence  spiritual,  is  enmeshed  in  all  sorts  of  material 
conceptions  more  or  less  intellectualized.  The  de- 
scription clearly  applies  to  those  mild  and  vaguely 
benevolent  souls  whose  conception  of  spiritual  triumph 
begins  and  ends  with  the  idea  of  an  earthly  millenium 
of  Rest,  in  which  all  the  swords  shall  be  prematurely 
beaten  into  ploughshares  and  the  lion  shall  lie  down 
with  the  lamb.  They  cannot  see  that  the  lion  is  still 
a  lion  and  a  beast  of  prey,  and  that  even  whilst  lying 
[126] 


NOTES 

down  by  the  lamb,  his  jaws  would  be  dripping  with  the 
slaver  of  expectancy.  Nor  do  they  understand  that 
where  spiritual  principle  is  involved  there  is,  and  can 
be,  no  compromise  and  they  will  never  understand  that 
so  long  as  the  material  will  of  Man  remains  in  any 
degree  unconverted,  the  spiritual  warfare  must  be  per- 
petually continued  until  the  balance  be  finally  turned. 
They  would  too  often  be  content  with  a  state  of  equi- 
poise, with  a  formal  treaty  planned  to  ensure  the  obliv- 
ion of  all  discord,  and  the  wiping-out  of  all  memories 
of  wrong.  In  this  category  must  be  placed  those  who 
either  actively  or  passively,  and  from  whatever  motive, 
whether  humanitarian  or  personal,  whether  ideal  or 
debased,  sympathetic  or  cowardly  or  even  merely  lazy, 
are  seeking  a  premature  peace.  They  are,  however 
unwittingly,  opening  the  door  to  reaction  and  to  the 
back-rush  of  thwarted  material  forces,  and  thus  threat- 
ening ruin  and  disaster  to  the  whole  human  race. 

To  counter  this  spiritual  error  and  prevent  stagna- 
tion, the  script  tells  us  that  a  caustic  irritant  is  applied 
to  the  body  of  the  Allied  nations.  This  process  we 
can  observe  if  we  will  in  the  recrudescence  of  senseless 
cruelties  on  the  part  of  the  foe,  long  after  any  conceiv- 
able military  object  could  be  served  by  them  even  from 
their  point  of  view. 

Rape,  arson,  murder,  and  enslavement;  the  torture 
and  starvation  of  prisoners,  and  other  atrocities  too 
numerous  to  mention  have  at  last  thoroughly  inflamed 
the  sore  which  had  grown  callous  and  even  the  most 
pacific  minds  have  been  stirred  and  galvanized  into 
active  opposition. 

As  a  typical  instance  of  this  extraordinary  change,  a 
single  case  may  be  cited.     It  was  reported  early  in 

[127] 


THE   HILL   OF   VISION 

December  that  a  group  of  "  conscientious  objectors  " 
forming  part  of  a  labour  battalion  in  France,  had  been 
so  horrified  by  the  cruelties  and  devastations  they  had 
seen  that  they  petitioned  to  be  embodied  in  the  fighting 
line,  and  became  the  most  ardent  of  belligerents. 

Note  on  Script  of  March  13 

It  may  be  long  before  events  are  seen  in  true  perspec- 
tive, and  the  actual  turning-point  of  the  great  conflict 
can  be  clearly  seen:  but  we  now  have  it  from  the  lips 
of  Count  Hertling,  a  few  days  before  his  death,  that 
the  German  military  authorities  had  realized  by  July 
1 8th,  191 8,  that  all  hope  of  winning  the  war  had  gone. 
Nevertheless  they  doggedly  persisted  and  in  the  north- 
ern section,  our  greatest  danger-point,  their  line  was 
well  maintained  till  the  period  of  the  great  British 
advance.  The  culminating  point  of  this  strong  offensive 
movement  was  reached  on  the  26th  of  August,  when 
the  British  forces  penetrated  the  German  lines  on  a 
wide  sector  from  Arras  to  Albert.  The  following  ex- 
tract from  the  Daily  Mail  of  August  26th,  based  upon 
Mr.  Beach  Thomas's  report,  is  significant. 

"  British  troops  won  the  greatest  British  victory  of 
the  war  yesterday  and  on  Saturday,  driving  the  Ger- 
mans before  them  on  a  wide  front  between  Arras  and 
the  Somme,  and  pushing  rapidly  to  the  outskirts  of 
Bapaume,  the  chief  German  road  and  railway  centre 
on  the  Somme  front  " 

and  again,  from  the  Report  itself,  we  quote :  — 

"  Whatever  happens,  the  present  achievement  is  its 
own  record.    German  confidence  and  hope  are  shattered 
as  never  before  even  approximately." 
[128] 


NOTES 

From  Mr.  H.  Perry  Robinson's  report,  published  in 
the  Daily  News  for  August  26th. 

"  These  are  great  days.  It  surely  must  be  that  they 
will  even  loom  greatly  in  history,  but  they  are  certainly 
great  to  live  in.  .  .  . 

"  The  sweep  of  our  advance  is  so  rapid  that  no  man 
can  say  where  our  advanced  line  as  a  whole  may  stand 
at  any  given  moment,  for  every  half-hour  brings  news 
that  this  or  that  village  is  in  our  hands.  .  .  .  German 
officers  taken  make  no  attempt  to  minimize  the  gravity 
of  the  catastrophe.  .  .  .  All  practically  seem  to  take 
the  view  that  Germany's  ultimate  victory  now  is  out 
of  the  question,  though  if  the  Allies  mean  to  crush  her 
utterly  she  can  still  fight  on  for  at  least  a  year  or  two 
to  come." 

A  Reuter's  despatch  printed  in  American  newspapers 
of  August  26th  is  quoted  on  p.  xvii. 

The  newspaper  reports  for  the  day  succeeding  the 
26th  are  generally  restrained  in  tone,  but  the  advance 
of  the  British  and  Allied  forces  continued  from  this 
time  forward  and  the  tide  of  the  German  advance 
was  henceforth  stemmed,  and  ceased  finally  to  flow 
westward. 


[129] 


ATTESTATIONS 

Extract  from  the  Daily  Express  of  the  14th 
March,  igig 

THE  NEXT  WAR! 


Allied  Victory  Sterile  unless  Bolshevism 
is  Crushed 


The  Yellow  Peril  in  a  New  Setting 

The  next  war  will  be  between  the  Allies  and 
the  Bolsheviks.  ...  If  the  Allies  fail,  Bolshe- 
vism will  destroy  the  culture  of  the  world  and 
the  yellow  races  will  become  supreme.  This  is 
the  prophecy  of  General  Hoffmann,  of  Brest- 
Litovsk  notoriety,  made  in  the  course  of  a  re- 
markable interview  with  Mr.  H.  J.  Greenwall, 
the  Daily  Express  special  correspondent  in  Ber- 
lin. There  is  irony  in  the  fact  that  this  picture 
of  a  Russian  terror  is  drawn  by  the  man  who 
bullied  Trotsky  into  accepting  a  humiliating 
peace.  General  Hoffmann  believes  that  unless 
the  armies  of  Lenin  and  Trotsky  are  crushed 
now,  and  that  quickly,  the  Entente  will  lose  the 
fruits  of  their  victory. 

Germans   in  the   Rhineland  dread  the   Bol- 
shevist terror  as  much  as  General  Hoffmann. 
[130] 


«A^V 


Facsimile  of  a  Page 


^ajL    -**^ 


^T*^-  *-**  i^^m^ju  W^+- 


Xll^Ayvlw^U*  J+*     ^V    K"***^'^ 


the  Automatic  Writings 


ATTESTATIONS 

A  demonstration  at  Cologne  was  strongly  in 
favour  of  a  Rhenish  buffer  State  as  a  barrier 
against  the  Red  Wave. 

From  General  Hoffmann's  detailed  remarks 
we  select  the  following: 

"  Without  Lenin  the  Entente  would  never  have  won 
the  war.  But  unless  Bolshevism  is  crushed,  the  Allies' 
victory  will  be  a  sterile  one,  for  the  triumph  of  Bol- 
shevism means  the  end  of  the  world's  culture.  Bol- 
shevism can  only  be  crushed  by  force:  it  needs  a  large 
Entente  army  —  marching  side  by  side  with  a  German 
army  —  to  crush  it.  It  must  be  done  and  done  soon  or 
it  will  too  late. 

"  In  reply  to  a  question  as  to  the  break-up  of  the  Ger- 
man army  he  said  he  told  Herr  Scheidemann  that  if  the 
Kaiser  went  away,  the  army  would  collapse  .  .  .  the 
long  duration  of  the  war  and  the  need  of  men  also 
played  a  part  in  the  downfall  of  the  German  army. 
Until  the  end  of  August,  191 8,  Ludendorff  thought 
that  the  war  was  won,  and  he  did  not  change  that 
opinion  until  General  Mangin's  offensive  took  place. 

"...  We  should  not  have  allowed  Bolshevik  repre- 
sentatives to  come  to  Germany.  Ludendorff  was  in  a 
great  hurry  for  me  to  make  peace  with  the  Russians 
and  he  telephoned  instructions  to  me  to  make  immediate 
peace  as  he  wanted  our  troops  withdrawn  from  the 
eastern  to  the  western  front.  .  .  ." 

"When  and  where  will  the  next  war  take 
place?"  I  asked  as  a  last  question. 

"  If  the  Entente  statesmen  are  clever,  the  next  war 
will  be  between  the  Allies  and  the  Bolsheviks:  other- 

[131] 


THE   HILL   OF   VISION 

wise  Bolshevism  will  kill   European  culture  and  the 
yellow  race  will  reign  supreme  in  Europe  " 

was  the  General's  reply. 

COPY   OF   LETTER 

FROM 

Sir  William  Barrett,  F.R.S. 

dated  April  2,  191 8 
Dear  Mr.  Bond:  — 

I  have  been  out  of  Town  for  a  few  days  and  your 
interesting  letter  enclosing  the  automatic  script  of  that 
day  (Good  Friday,  March  29th)  has  just  reached  me. 

Before  I  read  the  script  with  its  confident  statement 
that  "  the  tide  would  turn  on  Easter  Day  "  the  first 
thing  that  caught  my  eye  on  opening  the  Westminster 
Gazette  and  other  newspapers  was  the  headline  in  capi- 
tal letters  "  The  Tide  turned  on  Easter  Sunday." 

That  is  to  say,  the  terrible  apprehension  the  whole 
country  has  been  under  from  the  great  German  offen- 
sive during  March,  and  its  overflowing  tide  of  disaster 
to  our  troops  has  been  arrested  on  Easter  Day. 

One  can  only  hope  and  pray  that  the  tide  will  turn 
now  in  our  favour  and  that  Easter  Day  may  prove  to 
be  the  critical  turning  point. 

With  regard  to  the  new  procedure  you  have  adopted 
in  reading  aloud  to  the  automatist  so  that  his  mind  may 
be  interested  in  what  you  are  reading,  and  his  attention 
thus  diverted  from  the  script,  —  this  is  a  most  happy 
thought  and  an  excellent  procedure.    The  conscious  self 

[  132] 


ATTESTATIONS 

Is  thus  engaged  in  thinking  over  and  discussing  what 
you  are  reading,  and  the  subliminal  self  is  more  free  to 

act'  Yours  sincerely 

Signed,  W.    F.    BARRETT. 

3 I.Devonshire  Place.W. 
April.2.1918. 

P.  S.  That  is  why  my  plan  of  blindfolding  the  sit- 
ters in  the  Ouija  experiments  has  been  so  useful.  In 
fact,  the  sitter  gets  more  rapid  and  coherent  messages 
when  thoroughly  blindfold.  I  do  hope  you  will  be  able 
to  continue  these  interesting  experiments,  valuable  from 
every  point  of  view. 

ATTESTATION    BY    MISS    MAUD 
WINGATE 

I  was  present  at  some  of  the  sittings  between  March 
and  December,  191 8,  and  can  testify  to  the  fact  that 
Mr.  Bond's  reading  was  continuous  and  that  Mr. 
Alleyne's  writing  was  also  continuous  and  was  rapid 
and  very  uniform  in  speed. 

ATTESTATION  BY  MRS.  ELLEN  PARFITT 

I  am  witness  to  the  date  of  the  Script  obtained  on  the 
13th  of  March,  1918,  referring  to  the  end  of  the  war, 
etc.  I  was  also  present  on  other  occasions  during  the 
writing  and  have  in  many  cases  signed  the  record  of 
date. 

ATTESTATION  BY  MR.  JOHN  ALLEYNE 

I  desire  to  state  for  the  information  of  readers  that 
I  undertook  these  sittings  for  automatic  writing  purely 


THE   HILL   OF   VISION 

in  deference  to  Sir  William  Barrett's  suggestion  as  con- 
veyed by  my  friend  Mr.  Bond,  and  without  any  pre- 
conceived idea  as  to  what  might  be  the  nature  of  the 
results.  I  am  unable  to  recognize  the  resulting  script 
as  in  any  appreciable  degree  the  reflection  of  any  notions 
of  my  own,  and  although  I  am  a  wide  general  reader 
and  possess  a  retentive  memory,  I  find  myself  often  curi- 
ously unable  to  retain  a  clear  mental  impression  of 
these  scripts  after  they  have  been  read  to  me.  It  is  by 
nature  difficult  for  me  to  write  a  letter  or  to  carry  on 
a  conversation  in  presence  of  any  distracting  influence 
such  as  music  or  talking  by  others.  Yet  during  our  sit- 
tings my  attention  is  fully  given  to  Mr.  Bond's  reading, 
and  I  feel  my  hand  to  be  moved  quite  independently  of 
my  own  volition.  I  have  never  seriously  studied  philos- 
ophy and  have  not  followed  the  developments  of  mod- 
ern theosophical  thought.  With  Spiritualism  I  have 
had  scant  sympathy.  Applied  Science  and  the  Arts 
have  always  appealed  to  me  and  my  hobbies  have  in- 
cluded many  forms  of  Sport,  together  with  poetry  and 
literature. 

I  am  a  retired  officer,  a  conservative  in  politics, 
though  in  sympathy  with  the  present  movement  for 
Reconstruction. 


[134] 


